The Cisco Networking Academy's IoT Fundamentals curriculum provides students with a comprehensive understanding of the Internet of Things (IoT). It develops foundational skills using hands-on lab activities that stimulate the students in applying creative problem-solving and rapid prototyping in the interdisciplinary domain of electronics, networking, security, data analytics, and business. The student-centric approach translates into the student being able to ideate, design, prototype and present an IoT solution for an identified business or society need.

There are 3 instructor-led courses in the IoT Fundamentals curriculum: Connecting Things, Big Data & Analytics and Hackathon Playbook. Upon completion of each course, the end-of-course survey, and the end-of-course assessment, the student will receive a Certificate of Completion. The first course, Connecting Things, focuses on identifying, designing, prototyping, and presenting an IoT solution that securely solves a current business or social problem.

The Big Data & Analytics course builds on Connecting Things, teaching you how to collect, store, and visualize data obtained from IoT sensors. You’ll develop the ability to extract data and use data analytics to gain insights, an extremely valuable skill to employers.

In the hackathon, you’ll apply the multidisciplinary skills learned in Connecting Things and Big Data & Analytics to identify and solve a real-world problem.

Connecting Things students should have a basic understanding of how to network devices in a LAN and connect them to the internet; an ability to solve basic algorithmic problems using a programming language; knowledge of basic physics concepts such as current, voltage, resistance, and power; and a familiarity with Cisco Packet Tracer.

Prerequisite: Big Data & Analytics assumes students have completed of Connecting Things and have experience writing and debugging Python code.