Abstract

The Chair of Aerospace Information Technology at the University of Würzburg is working on a technology transfer project in the field of bioeconomics. The methods and tools of the aerospace industry will now be used in precision agriculture and in particular in precision beekeeping. Computer science students are actively involved in engineering activities. Students have the opportunity to work on a real project (Project-Based Learning), where the practical relevance goes clearly beyond purely academic exercises. In addition to methods and tools for coordinating cooperative work, students learn the difference between ideal and real systems in a laboratory for prototype construction. In cooperation with partner universities in Chile, a teaching and learning platform for Internet of Things (IoT) systems will be developed from the hardware and software components developed in the project. Donnelly and Fitzmaurice (Donnelly R, Fitzmaurice M (2005) Collaborative project-based learning and problem-based learning in higher education. In: O’Neill G, Moore S, Mcmullin B (eds) Emerging issues in the practice of university learning and teaching. AISHE/HEA, pp 87–98) define Project-Based Learning (PBL) as a learning method based on the principle problem-solving as a starting point for the acquisition and integration of knowledge and skills development. Considering the need to innovate in the way of learning, the authors of this work want to expose in this paper the: (1) the scientific arguments that support the PBL proposal in the Chair of Aerospace Information Technology and (2) a description of the case of PBL “HONEYCLOUD” at the University of Würzburg (Germany).