MERIT International Industry Engagement Workshop on IoT 2026 Highlights Expert Insights and Real-World Applications

On 16 June 2026, the MERIT International Industry Engagement Workshop on the Internet of Things (IoT) took place in hybrid format, from Manresa, Spain, and online. Following the successful MERIT International Industry Engagement Workshop on Artificial Intelligence held earlier in June, this IoT session, hosted by the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya – BarcelonaTech (UPC) in Manresa, UPC – EPSEM, marked the final workshop of the three sessions in 2026. 

Organised within the framework of the MERIT project, the session brought together 24 participants, including representatives from industry, higher education institutions, research organisations and students. The workshop provided a platform for knowledge exchange and collaboration, focusing on how IoT technologies are transforming industries by connecting devices, systems, data and people. 

Through expert presentations and open discussion, the workshop highlighted real-world IoT applications, emerging technological trends and the skills required by future professionals working in this rapidly evolving field. It also contributed to the ongoing dialogue between industry professionals and higher education institutions, supporting the development of MERIT master’s and educational programmes that reflect the evolving needs of the digital economy. 

Workshop Highlights 

The programme included short presentations from invited speakers, followed by an interactive panel session, Q&A and closing remarks. The session focused on the practical implementation of IoT technologies across different sectors, offering participants the opportunity to learn from concrete applications, technological solutions and challenges encountered in real-world environments. 

• Mayte Penella, from Urbiotica, presented “Smart Parking IoT: From NB-IoT Sensors to City-Scale Parking Intelligence”, offering insights into how IoT-based sensing technologies can support smart urban infrastructures and data-driven decision-making at city scale. 
• Marta Millan, from Asoindel, presented “Industrial IoT and AI Solutions for Test & Validation”, highlighting how industrial data can create value by improving decision-making, reducing validation times, enabling earlier fault detection, and ultimately helping organizations build more robust, efficient, and reliable systems.
• Marc Sociats, from Tecnical Manresa SA, presented “Industrial IoT for smart farming”, highlighting how IoT technologies can support innovation in agricultural environments and contribute to smarter, more connected farming practices. 
• Xavier Martinez, from Eurecat, presented “IoT applied to sustainability and environmental management”, addressing the role of IoT solutions in supporting sustainability-oriented applications and environmental monitoring. 
• Joan Pujol, from Picvisa, presented “Smart Optical Sorting: IoT-Driven Innovation in Waste Management”, showing how IoT-driven approaches can contribute to innovation in waste management and smart sorting processes. 

Together, these contributions provided a broad overview of the diversity of IoT applications, from smart cities and agriculture to sustainability, environmental management and waste management. The workshop also encouraged discussion on key aspects such as scalability, interoperability, security, data-driven decision-making, automation and smart infrastructures. 

Closing the 2026 Industry Workshop Series 

The IoT workshop closed the 2026 edition of the MERIT International Industry Engagement Workshop series, following the previous sessions on Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence. 

Across the three workshops, MERIT has strengthened dialogue between academia, industry, students and research organisations in the key deep-tech domains of Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things. The series has also created valuable opportunities to reflect on technological trends, skills needs and future collaboration between higher education institutions and the digital sector. 

MERIT extends its sincere thanks to all participants, experts and collaborators who joined the three Industry Engagement Workshops in 2026 and contributed to their success. Their insights and engagement have been essential to reinforcing the connection between education, industry needs and the future of advanced digital skills in Europe. 

Recording of the session and previous IIEW 

The recording of the IoT workshop is now available on the Digital MERIT Project YouTube channel HERE. Previous sessions recordings can be found as well in this playlist. 

Further insights from the session on IoT will be published soon on the MERIT website. Stay tuned by following MERIT on LinkedIn and Instagram, and subscribe to our newsletter to keep up to date with future activities and opportunities. 

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About MERIT

The MERIT project aims to strengthen advanced digital skills in key deep-tech domains, including Cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet of Things. Through close collaboration among its consortium partners, MERIT has developed new master’s and training programmes at UPC, RTU-RBS, TalTech, and VILNIUS TECH, shaped by technological market trends and aligned with industry needs, with students already benefiting from them.

MERIT supports the development of innovative educational programmes and engagement activities that prepare students, professionals, and organisations for the rapidly evolving digital landscape.

About MERIT Contributors Network

The Digital Europe MERIT project brings together a diverse network of innovators, combining the expertise of academic institutions, industry leaders, and research organisations across Europe. Our network works collaboratively to tackle the challenges and opportunities in the field of advanced digital skills, with a focus on AI, Cybersecurity, and IoT. Together with our contributors, we foster digital transformation and support the development of future skills that will be utilized by the employees of tomorrow.

Join our network by filling out the MERIT Contributors form here!