Developing a new advanced microcontrollers course as a part of embedded systems curriculum

This paper presents our experiences in developing a new advanced microcontrollers course within the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computing Systems at the University of Cincinnati (UC). This course was developed and offered for the first time in Spring 2013 to undergraduate seniors and first-year graduate students in electrical and computer engineering. It is also open to interested students in other relevant science and engineering programs. The course aims at providing advanced skills in designing and developing microcontroller-based embedded systems. It adopts an instruction model that integrates active learning techniques with in-class lectures and laboratory projects. The paper elaborates on the course structure and schedule, pedagogical techniques used in the course, and student feedback results. It also explains how this course fits in to the existing embedded systems curriculum at UC.