Twenty participants from research and industry, representing eight different countries, attended the summer school to deepen their knowledge in the field of optimal control of embedded systems. The event was opened by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Martin Mönnigmann, who outlined the agenda of the one-week course and began with a review of fundamental optimization concepts. Juraj Oravec, Assistant Professor at STU Bratislava, followed with an introduction to Model Predictive Control (MPC), focusing in particular on the challenges and strategies of implementation under limited resources in embedded systems. Martin Mönnigmann continued with details on MPC, before Sebastian Leonow, Senior Engineer at ACS, introduced the topic of system identification, which forms the foundation of effective control.

The second day began with a lecture by Prof. Gabriele Pannocchia, Professor at the University of Pisa, on offset-free MPC, nonlinear MPC, and state estimation.

A joint excursion in the afternoon did not only provided time to reflect on the material learned but also fostered exchange and networking among participants and lecturers. The destination was the Nachtigall Coal Mine, where the group gained fascinating insights into the history of mining, which shaped the Rhine-Ruhr region for many decades. The day concluded with a joint dinner close to the university.

The third day focused on practical experience. In parallel with the lectures, participants worked on their own tasks and became familiar with the introduced software. The day started with Juraj Holaza, Research Associate at STU Bratislava, who gave an introduction to the Matlab-based toolbox MPT3. His colleague, Peter Bakarac, then taught participants the basics of C programming. The lecture series was closed by Raphael Dyrska, Research Associate at ACS, with a lecture on solvers and their application in embedded systems.

Project work took center stage at the 4th day of the summer school. In small groups, participants were asked to practically apply what they had learned. Each group, consisting of two to three people, could choose one of three embedded platforms: a gimbal, a propeller driven inverted pendulum, or a heating element. The difficulty of the control tasks varied, allowing each group to select a device suited to their prior knowledge and the content covered during the course. The groups were supported by all lecturers as well as additional ACS staff, ensuring that many practical questions could be answered directly and efficiently.

The summer school concluded with presentations of each group’s results. Afterwards, each participant received a certificate confirming their successful participation.

Finally, we would like to express our heartfelt thanks to all colleagues from the University of Pisa and STU Bratislava for their dedicated contribution to the summer school!