Point.IOT.MOOC

Overview

Point.MOOC is the online training element of POINT.IoT, an EU-funded programme designed to stimulate innovation at the intersection of the Internet of Things (IoT) and European satellite navigation (EGNSS, including Galileo).

The course exists because the programme believes everyone should have access to the tools needed to support Galileo-enabled IoT solutions. It is a self-directed, free training programme that lets entrepreneurs develop their ideas at their own pace, whether they are new to the field or already established in IoT or Galileo-related business.

Background: the POINT.IoT programme

POINT.IoT was funded under Horizon 2020 and organised by leading companies including Verhaert, SpaceTec Partners, Cesah and Orange, with support from the European GNSS Agency (now EUSPA). It combined several strands:

• POINT.Cheetah: scouting and selecting new IoT applications that use GNSS technologies for a three-month technical and business sprint with a multidisciplinary team of mentors.
• POINT.Kangeroo: business training tools to support the teams, including the POINT.IoT Entrepreneur Playbook and the MOOC.
• POINT.MOOC: a Massive Open Online Course teaching the business basics in a modern, interactive way.
• POINT.Partnerships: connecting teams with industrial stakeholders as development partners, suppliers, clients or investors.

The MOOC broadened the reach of the programme, giving anyone with an idea access to the same core knowledge shared with selected teams.

The challenge

Entrepreneurs building Galileo-enabled IoT products face two linked problems:

• Many have a strong idea or technology but limited experience designing a viable business around it.
• Others understand business but are unsure where to start with satellite positioning, low-power GNSS or Galileo integration.

Point.MOOC was designed to address both in one structured programme, so that participants could move from an initial idea to a more robust product concept and business case.

Course structure

Point.MOOC takes learners through two connected parts, presented as 14 on-demand training sessions in the course introduction (the full curriculum lists 18 lessons including two welcome modules).

Part 1: Business design

Learners journey through the customer problem, product concept design, business model creation and launching a product:

1. Welcome to the business design sessions
2. Understanding your customer and the product-market fit
3. Developing your IoT value proposition
4. Translating customer requirements into technical concept design
5. Creating your Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
6. Designing and differentiating your user-centred product
7. Creating your business model
8. Taking your product to market
9. How to fund your development

Part 2: Technical training

The technical sessions explain positioning in our connected world and go deep into Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and the European system, Galileo:

10. Welcome to the technical sessions
11. How does positioning work for the Internet of Things?
12. Using low-power GNSS technologies for your IoT solution
13. The advantages of GNSS positioning
14. What differentiates Galileo?
15. The benefits of processing your GNSS data in the cloud
16. Key technologies for IoT trackers
17. Edge computing
18. Security in IoT and edge computing

Who it is for

• New entrepreneurs exploring an IoT or location-based idea.
• Established IoT or Galileo businesses looking to strengthen their business model or technical approach.
• Developers who want a practical introduction to GNSS and Galileo for IoT devices.
• Teams preparing to apply to programmes such as POINT.IoT.

Instructors

The course brought together business and technical experts from across the European ecosystem.

Business experts

• Annekatrien Debien, Manager, SpaceTec Partners
• Piotr Bucki, Lead Start-Up Mentor, SpaceTec Partners
• Zane Smilga, Coordinator, Open Lab, Verhaert
• Rogelio Chovet, Business Consultant, Verhaert
• David Pas, Coordinator, Designlab, Verhaert

Technical experts

• Felix Rottmann, Senior Consultant, SpaceTec Partners
• Miquel Garcia-Fernandez, Co-Founder and CTO, Rokubun
• Xavier Banque Casanovas, Co-Founder, Rokubun

My role

Add a short description of your contribution here, for example: content development, editorial or script support, communications and promotion, course production, coordination with SpaceTec Partners, or work delivered through Design & Data.

Why it matters

Satellite navigation is becoming a foundational layer of the connected world, but turning it into successful products requires both technical understanding and sound business design. By making that training free and on-demand, Point.MOOC lowered the barrier to entry for European IoT start-ups and helped spread knowledge of Galileo’s advantages for positioning, velocity and timing, particularly in demanding urban environments.

Related links

• POINT.IoT project on CORDIS
• POINT.IoT on the EUSPA project portfolio

Keywords

Point.IoT; Point.MOOC; Galileo; EGNSS; GNSS; Internet of Things; IoT entrepreneurship; business design; MVP; low-power positioning; edge computing; IoT security; Horizon 2020; EUSPA; SpaceTec Partners; Verhaert; Rokubun.