Students at Wichita State University are gaining hands-on experience with networked AV and security technologies through a campus project focused on designing and testing integrated safety systems.
The initiative is part of the university’s Innovation Campus, which connects students, faculty and industry partners on real-world projects. Within that ecosystem, the Project Innovation Hub brings together students from disciplines including biomedical, aerospace, computer science and electrical engineering to collaborate on applied technology challenges.
A recent project tasked students with building and validating a campus-wide security system in a controlled lab environment. The effort included support from multiple industry partners, including AtlasIED, Cisco, Singlewire Software, IntelliSee, Kontakt.io and Logicalis.
The project focused on interoperability, with students working to connect systems from different vendors and identify gaps in documentation. The goal was to validate that the systems work together and explore more standardized ways to integrate them.
“This project started like most anything does, with an innocent conversation that began asking ‘what if?’ questions or ‘I wish I could do X,’” said Nathan Smith, Director of the Project Innovation Hub at Wichita State. “It was some industry connections and I that started talking about common problems that can be addressed, and it snowballed from there into a full project. Our backdrop was the school security safety concerns raised by various stakeholders within the regional school districts.”
As part of the deployment, students worked with AtlasIED’s IPX Series endpoints to manage communications across campus environments.
The IP-based platform includes loudspeakers, visual displays, flashers and gateways designed to support both daily announcements and emergency alerts on a single network. Students used the system to test integrations and manage communications across campus spaces.
Alex Puorro, Vice President of IP Endpoint Technology at AtlasIED, said the project gave students a hands-on learning experience, allowing them to explore the products, ask questions and test the systems.
Puorro said the process involved coordinating with Logicalis, the reseller and integrator, and collaborating with Singlewire and IntelliSee to confirm functionality, plan preparation and determine which products best fit student use cases.
Students said the experience helped them better understand how networks work in practice and how to troubleshoot issues.
The project also emphasized soft skills, including communication with vendors and stakeholders, along with project ownership and problem-solving.
According to Smith, the experience has already led to career opportunities for some participants, including roles in networking labs, defense programs and internships tied to the AV industry.
