At our organization, we work closely with teams like Force Fusion (a FIRST Robotics team) and DARE (a student rocketry team from Delft University) by providing consultancy on their LabVIEW code for robotics and rocketry projects. We also share practical tips and tricks to help them use LabVIEW more effectively.
Many of these students are new to LabVIEW and face the challenge of working with complex FPGA, Real-Time, and Windows applications under tight deadlines. This often leads to a "quick fix" approach, getting and applying last minute bandages. As a result, they often struggle with maintaining good coding practices.
To help them avoid common issues like spaghetti code, race conditions, or unreadable architectures, we offer free attendance to our LabVIEW Fundamentals and Advanced courses when spots are available. I think this goes a long way in promoting LabVIEW to future engineers. The students leave the courses with a better understanding of how to use LabVIEW efficiently, along with course materials to support further learning.
While I always recommend our Dutch LabVIEW User Group, the topics covered there are often too advanced or specific for these students. Their main need is to build solid LabVIEW skills and pick up useful tips for day-to-day usage. Even introducing them to features like Quick Drop or frameworks like the JKI State Machine can greatly enhance their productivity and reduce frustration. Increasing the chance they will pick up LabVIEW in their later professional life.
Sponsorship can make a significant impact. We’re also open to visiting universities to deliver guest lectures and teach the basics of LabVIEW. For instance, I can conduct a seminar on state machines, sequencers or tips, tricks & debugging for example.
