From Voice to Waves: Exploring Wireless Communication (IEEE TryEngineering STEM Grant)

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“From Voice to Waves: Exploring Wireless Communication” was a hands-on STEM outreach workshop conducted on 18 October 2026 at Sree Chitra Thirunal College of Engineering (SCTCE), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The programme was organized by the IEEE SCTCE Communications Society Student Branch Chapter under the 2026 IEEE TryEngineering STEM Grant, in collaboration with the Innovation Centre for IoT and Wireless Communication, SCTCE.

The session was co-led by Dr. Lakshmi V S, Chair, IEEE ComSoc Kerala Chapter and Staff Advisor of ComSoc IEEE SCT SBC, and speaker Ajmal Al Hameed, a licensed amateur radio operator and Student Representative, IEEE ComSoc Kerala Chapter and IEEE ComSoc SBC volunteers. The workshop introduced 40 students from Classes 8 and 9 to the fundamentals of wireless communication through practical demonstrations and interactive activities. Participants were drawn from DVMNNMHSS Maranalloor and Government HSS Punnamoodu, with 20 students from each school. 4 school teachers and 8 IEEE volunteers supported the programme.

The activities included voice communication using handheld transceivers and demonstrations of software-defined radio (SDR) technology. Students were introduced to how voice and information are converted into radio signals, transmitted wirelessly, received, and interpreted.

Key hands-on activities included

• Handheld Operation: Operating transceivers to understand practical voice transmission.
• Spectrum Visualization: Visualizing electromagnetic waves in real time using an RTL-SDR dongle
• FM Radio Station reception: Illustrating reception of FM radio station via Handheld radios and RTL-SDR dongle.
• SDR Integration: Demonstrating how traditional radios and software-controlled transmitters support modern systems.

The programme aimed to make communication engineering accessible and engaging for school students by connecting scientific concepts with real-world wireless technologies.

Pre- and post-assessment tests were conducted to evaluate their understanding of wireless communication concepts. Assessment results showed an increase in the average score from 4/10 before the workshop to 8/10 after the workshop, this would indicate a substantial improvement in students’ understanding of the concepts introduced.

Participant quotes:

1. “I had never imagined that I would get an opportunity to hold and operate a handheld walkie-talkie like the ones used by police officers in my lifetime! I was so excited to experience it firsthand. This workshop has made me curious to learn more about how this technology works and how people communicate wirelessly.”
2. “The workshop helped me understand how our voices can travel wirelessly through radio waves. Seeing the signals on the computer using RTL-SDR was very interesting. I would like to learn more about how wireless communication works.”

Teachers Feedback

“The hands-on demonstrations gave students an opportunity to experience communication technology beyond what they learn in textbooks. The workshop was engaging and helped them develop an interest in science and engineering.”

Overall, the programme achieved its objective of stimulating scientific curiosity, strengthening conceptual understanding, and inspiring young learners to explore wireless communication and emerging engineering technologies through experiential learning.

 

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Certificate_1		568.06 KiB
Certificate_2		511.40 KiB
Feedback		865.32 KiB
Group_Photo_1		345.86 KiB
Ham_Radio_Session		391.04 KiB
Morse_Code_Session		578.69 KiB
Session_1		598.73 KiB
Session_2		1.11 MiB
Session_3_SDR		473.29 KiB
Session_4		656.65 KiB
Walkie_Talkie_Demo		484.78 KiB

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