21/01/26: Invited Talk

For the International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC), Dr James E. Pickering will be delivering a talk on my latest work in control engineering education (abstract details are given below). The session will take place at 3:00 pm (UK time) on 20 January and will be hosted via Microsoft Teams.

Please use the following link to join on the day (no registration is required):
https://lnkd.in/eyYzMVcm

Abstract: Lower hardware costs and the rapid expansion of open-access learning resources are fundamentally reshaping control engineering education, enabling students to engage directly with real systems rather than learning control concepts solely through abstract theory. In response to this shift, the Automatic Control Engineering Laboratory (ACE-Lab) was launched in the United Kingdom in 2025 as an online-focused educational ecosystem, bringing together a growing consortium of higher education and industry partners committed to advancing applied control engineering education.
ACE-Lab is structured around three integrated elements: ACE-CORE, a methodological framework that defines the learning progression in applied control engineering; ACE-Box, a low-cost, portable hardware platform that enables hands-on engagement with sensors, actuators, and embedded control; and ACE-Apply, an applications layer that contextualises learning through authentic engineering applications.

This talk introduces the ACE-Lab ecosystem, with particular focus on the ACE-Box platform. The session will present the system architecture, outline representative MATLAB and Simulink-based teaching activities, and demonstrate how ACE-CORE and ACE-Apply are used alongside the ACE-Box to support a structured learning pathway from foundational control concepts to authentic engineering applications.