Their “internet of things” knowledge a key to success

A keen understanding of the the internet of things (iOT) displayed by a team of four Missouri S&T students was recognized by AT&T’s iOT technology executives who provided the team a remote mentoring session in December. The mentoring session supplemented the team’s $1,000 first-place win in AT&T’s “Smart Cities Case Competition” in November.

The iOT concept involves connecting any device with an on and off switch to the Internet—everything from cellphones and appliances to wearable devices and machines. By 2020, the Gartner research group predicts over 26 billion devices will be connected.

This year’s case study competition, hosted by Missouri S&T’s business and information technology (BIT) department, presented 17 S&T teams with a technology challenge facing metropolitan areas and then asked them to choose a city. Teams then developed their “smart city” solutions by using AT&T’s existing resources. The winning team picked Seattle.

Students Jose Alega, Allison Chan, Sreevaishnav Deevi, and Luis Ocampo, all freshmen at Missouri S&T, had 30 minutes to present a condensed version of their winning presentation to the AT&T leadership. According to, Kim Rakers, lead college recruiting manager at AT&T in St. Louis, Missouri, the executives were impressed with the caliber of the students’ work, which was on par with the work of seasoned IT professionals.

“The team did a phenomenal job,” Rakers says. “Our iOT executives were very impressed with the amount of detail they included and the fact that they incorporated funding projections and an understanding of government involvement in their solution. The students received great  feedback from them.”

“Missouri S&T appreciates the opportunity AT&T provides our students to have realistic technology experiences that can help them prepare for their career path,” says Dr. Keng Siau, professor and chair of the department of business and information technology.

The winning students were: 
Jose Alega, a freshman in computer science from St. Charles, Missouri
Allison Chan, a freshman in computer science from Chesterfield, Missouri
Sreevaishnav Deevi, a freshman in computer science from Ellisville, Missouri
Luis Ocampo, a freshman in information science and technology from Chesterfield, Missouri

AT&T mentoring leadership team:
Christopher Penrose, Senior Vice President, Internet of Things Solutions
Vinisha Clark, Vice President, Global Enterprise Solutions
Michael Zeto, Assistant Vice President, Internet of Things Solutions
Anthony Mokry, Assistant Vice President, Mobility Markets
Kim Rakers, Lead College Recruiting Manager