Global IT corporation FPT and Silicon Labs hosted the 2026 edition of IoT Challenge, a technology competition designed to nurture emerging talent in IoT, embedded systems, AI, smart devices, smart manufacturing, smart cities and digital transformation. The program brought together 687 teams and 3,407 students from Vietnam, the United Kingdom, India, and Hungary, representing 140 universities worldwide, providing participants with a platform to develop technology solutions with real-world potential. 

Executives from FPT and Silicon Labs at IoT Challenge 2026, marking their collaboration to nurture emerging engineering talent and advance technology innovation

This year’s challenge focused on healthcare solutions, with teams applying emerging technologies to areas such as connected health monitoring, patient experience, intelligent automation, and digital healthcare systems. Students received technical training and mentorship throughout the program before presenting their projects to a panel of industry and technology experts.

FPT led the competition’s design and execution, covering program development, mentoring activities, judging processes, and talent engagement initiatives. As the strategic partner and device sponsor, Silicon Labs contributed development kits, semiconductor technologies, technical expertise, and mentorship support, while also collaborating on challenge design and evaluation criteria.

The initiative also strengthened connections between academia and industry by giving students exposure to emerging technologies, hands-on engineering environments, and direct interaction with technology professionals. Simultaneously, the program created opportunities for participating organizations to engage with promising engineering talent and gain insight into new ideas developed by the next generation of innovators.

Students participating in IoT Challenge 2026 developed and presented healthcare-focused technology solutions using IoT, embedded systems, and AI. 

“The next wave of IoT will be defined by intelligence moving closer to the edge and deeper into the physical world. For young engineers, that means combining technical knowledge with systems thinking, sound judgment, and learning agility across hardware, connectivity, data, and AI. IoT Challenge helps build these capabilities early by exposing students to ambiguity, trade-offs, and end-to-end ownership, preparing them to shape the next era of intelligent systems,” said Prajith Nair, FPT Software Senior Vice President and Head of Learning and Innovation, FPT Corporation. 

“Over the past five years, we have witnessed the remarkable growth of IoT Challenge, not only in scale but also in the quality and maturity of the innovations presented by students. This year, we were particularly impressed by how participants went beyond technical excellence to focus on real-world impact, exploring solutions that can improve people's lives and potentially evolve into sustainable business opportunities. It is inspiring to see the next generation of engineers combining innovation, purpose, and entrepreneurial thinking to address meaningful challenges,” said Shoaib Javed, Senior Director of Software Engineering, Silicon Labs.

Launched in 2022, IoT Challenge has evolved from a university-level competition in Vietnam into a global technology platform. Over five years of collaboration between FPT and Silicon Labs, the initiative has expanded from 115 students to more than 3,400 participants representing 140 universities worldwide. Beyond the annual challenge, it has helped connect students with academic and industry communities, with many alumni going on to pursue advanced training or careers in the technology sector.