Hendrik Voll, vice rector of TalTech, said that Tallinn University of Technology is part of the EuroTeQ network of technical universities. "One of the great cooperation ambitions of this network of top technical universities is project and problem-based learning. Every year, a problem-based and project-based learning competition between universities is planned to find out the best ideas. We are very happy that our students' solution in the field of building automation was recognized at a high level this year."

The winning idea, called ENSA.AI, could predict the occupancy of a building using carbon dioxide level and temperature data to control air ventilation. According to the students' supervisor, Eduard Petlenkov, members of the working group have conducted a feasibility study, which confirmed that the solution can be implemented in real life. "We are dealing with the first prototype, which, after some improvements, could be used to control ventilation systems in different types of buildings."

The project was carried out in cooperation with the Estonian company R8 Technologies, which develops artificial intelligence-based solutions for energy-efficient remote control of commercial buildings. "The cooperation that started more than two years ago is a good example of successful research development cooperation between the university and the company, which hopefully will continue in the future. Such joint projects strengthen TalTech's research potential and bring the quality of research-based education to a new level," added Petlenkov.

A trip to Brussels awaits the winners on 20-21. in June, where the students present the winning idea to representatives of the European Commission and visit the Bruxelles-Energie waste-to-energy plant.

The ENSA.AI project was born within the framework of three interdisciplinary project subjects of the master's program. Mai-Liis Org, a master's student in electronics and communication technologies, Tatsuki Ishikawa, Sanan Suleymanov and Sander Tsõbulski, a master's student in computer systems, and Prisca Adenike Adeoti, a master's student in mechatronics, were part of the team and contributed.

EuroTeQaThon is the final event of the problem-based learning project Collider, where the best student teams from partner universities of the European network of technical universities EuroTeQ competed. Three teams from TalTech participated in the competition. EuroTeQaThon took place on 10-12 June 2022 in three European countries, TalTech presented its ideas in Denmark. In addition to Tallinn University of Technology, EuroTeQ also includes Munich University of Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Eindhoven University of Technology, École Polytechnique and Czech University of Technology. Local problem-based learning competitions were held in all partner universities in the spring semester. The teams had to solve the challenges of companies or organizations in three areas - cities, consumption and energy. The main theme of the competition was "Leave no Waste behind". Each university selected the top three teams, one from each category, to advance to the EuroTeQaThon finals.