---
title: "ECEDHA Webinar Highlights: Expanding Hands-On Engineering Education With Open-Source Labs"
description: Explore ECEDHA webinar highlights on expanding hands-on engineering education with open-source labs without increasing your budget.
image: https://content.redpitaya.com/hubfs/blog%20featured%20image%20-%202026-05-20T110202.618.jpg
---
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# ECEDHA Webinar Highlights: Expanding Hands-On Engineering Education With Open-Source Labs
- Posted by  [Red Pitaya Technical Editorial Team](https://redpitaya.com/Red-Pitaya-Blog-team/) , May 27, 2026
How do universities deliver more hands-on lab experiences without increasing already constrained budgets? That was the central question explored during a recent ECEDHA webinar sponsored by **Red Pitaya**, *Open-Source Experiential Learning: How to Deliver More Hands-On Lab Experiences Without Increasing Your Budget*.
The session brought together academic and industry leaders from Southern Methodist University (SMU), Oklahoma State University, DigiKey, and Red Pitaya. Together, they discussed how open-source instrumentation helps departments expand access to practical engineering education.
## The "Break and Build" Philosophy
One of the key themes throughout the webinar was the shift from traditional centralized lab environments toward more flexible, student-accessible experimentation.
Mahesh Krishnamurti, Chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at SMU, shared how the university has been introducing “labs in every classroom” by integrating portable instrumentation into courses incrementally rather than redesigning the entire curriculum at once.
“We wanted learning to happen anytime and anywhere,” Krishnamurti explained. “The goal was not just teaching students where to push buttons, but helping them understand concepts by building, modifying, and experimenting themselves.”
**This approach embraces a "break and build" mentality, allowing students to learn by safely making mistakes without the fear of damaging $50,000 legacy equipment.**
## The AI Era Demands Hands-On Verification
The discussion also focused on the growing importance of hands-on engineering experience in the age of AI. YC Wang, Global Academic Program Director at DigiKey, emphasized that employers—such as AMD and ST Micro—increasingly value students who can demonstrate practical project experience alongside academic performance. **By participating in hackathons and publishing digital portfolios on platforms like Maker.io, students can significantly boost their ECE careers.**
“Students need to know whether the output from AI tools is actually correct,” Wang noted. “That only comes from experience.”
## Taking Labs to the Edge of Space
One of the webinar’s most compelling examples came from Professor Eric Benton of Oklahoma State University, whose students use Red Pitaya hardware in radiation detection experiments ranging from high-altitude balloon missions to NASA-funded research aboard the International Space Station.
By combining **open-source instrumentation** with student-developed hardware and software **directly on the FPGA**, Benton’s team has been able to significantly reduce the cost of advanced radiation measurement systems while giving students direct experience with real-world engineering challenges.
Across all presentations, a common message emerged: open-source instrumentation is not only about affordability. **Ultimately, the Red Pitaya platform:**
- **Gives students greater access to experimentation.**
- **Encourages curiosity through a modular curriculum.**
- **Builds practical engineering confidence early in their education.**
The full webinar, [*Open-Source Experiential Learning: How to Deliver More Hands-On Lab Experiences Without Increasing Your Budget*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJeGj1RSPQ0), is now available on demand through ECEDHA.
### About the Red Pitaya Team
The Red Pitaya Technical Editorial Team is a cross-functional group of technical communicators and product specialists. By synthesizing insights from our hardware developers and global research partners, we provide verified, high-value content that bridges the gap between open-source innovation and industrial-grade precision.
Our mission is to make advanced instrumentation accessible to engineers, researchers, and educators worldwide.
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