Here is the list of confirmed speakers for the Summer School on Specification and Design Languages 2025.
Multi-Paradigm Modelling
Hans Vangheluwe - University of Antwerp, Belgium
As the complexity of Cyber-Physical Systems (of Systems) we build grows, the need for an elegant theory, and
methods, techniques, and tools to tackle that complexity increases. This talk gives a very personal and
anecdotal overview of some attempts to tackle the complexity of engineered systems by explicitly "modelling
everything" (that is relevant, at some point in time) by means of "most appropriate" views, architectures, and
workflows, and this for all phases of the system life-cycle such as system requirements, design and
deployment/realization. To represent each of these views, architectures, and workflows, we use models, at
"most appropriate" levels of detail/abstraction/fidelity, using "most appropriate" modelling languages
(formalisms). This appropriateness is of course highly subjective and depends on the application domain, the
background of the modeller, availability of tools, etc. A major challenge is a heterogeneity in domain silos,
in modelling abstractions and formalisms, and in particular how to combine these. Even for this challenge, as
well as for the construction of supporting editing, simulation, debugging, ... tooling, using "most
appropriate" abstractions and formalisms turns out to be beneficial. This talk will both look back at past
challenges and solutions and will try to extrapolate "most appropriate modelling" into a future where dealing
with "change" plays a central role.
Biography
Hans Vangheluwe is a professor in the Computer Science department of the University of Antwerp.
His Modelling, Simulation and Design Lab (MSDL), part of the Antwerp Systems and Software Modelling (AnSyMo)
group is a core research laboratory in the Design and Optimization cluster of Flanders Make, the strategic
research centre for the Flemish manufacturing industry.
In his research on multi-paradigm modelling, he studies the foundations and applications of modelling language
engineering. This covers the entire spectrum, from acausal modelling languages such as Modelica for lumped
parameter modelling of physical systems, to discrete-event simulation languages such as DEVS and GPSS to model
software and production systems. He investigates modular combinations of these formalisms, of views and of
abstractions. He develops scalable (meta-)modelling and (co-)simulation tools to help engineers design, build,
optimise and maintain Cyber-Physical Systems.
He was the co-founder and coordinator of the EU ESPRIT Basic Research Working Group 8467 “Simulation in
Europe”, a founding member of the Modelica language Design Team, and the chair of the EU COST Action IC1404 on
Multi-Paradigm Modelling for Cyber-Physical Systems (MPM4CPS).
Virtual Prototyping and Interoperability Standards in Multidisciplinary Design
Sara Vinco - Polytechnic of Turin, Italy
In an era of increasingly complex systems, multidisciplinary design is both a necessity and a challenge.
Virtual prototyping has emerged as a critical approach to explore, validate, and evaluate alternative
configurations early in the design process. However, effective collaboration across disciplines—mechanical,
electrical, software, and more—requires not only integrated workflows but also shared semantics and
interoperable tools. This talk introduces the core principles and practical advantages of virtual prototyping
in a multidisciplinary context, with a focus on the use of open standards for both the modeling and the
co-simulation of heterogeneous descriptions. Through illustrative examples, attendees will gain insight into
how standards facilitate collaboration across domains, reduce integration costs, and support scalable
system-level design.
Biography
Sara Vinco (Senior Member, IEEE) is an Associate Professor at Politecnico di Torino, Italy, where
she has held a faculty position since 2021. She earned her Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of
Verona in 2013. Her research focuses on digital twins, energy-efficient electronic design automation,
simulation and optimization of energy systems, and the virtual prototyping of heterogeneous embedded systems.
SysML v2, hands on
Christoph Grimm - University of Kaiserslautern-Landau, Germany
SysML has just appeared in its version 2 as “SysML v2”. It is ways more than just an update of version one -
it is an entirely new framework that offers significantly more possibilities that its predecessor.
I will explain the ecosystem, its foundations, the new metamodel (KerML), its various notions of typing, and
the textual representation of SysML v2. Furthermore, I will demonstrate practical examples that can be
followed hands-on by an OSS implementation.
Biography
Christoph Grimm works on the specification and modeling of discrete/continuous systems. Recently
he contributed an Open-Source implementation of a SysML v2 tool that combines KerML/SysML v2 textual with a
constraint solver. He is member of the OMG Formal Methods working group and vice-chair of the Accellera
SystemC AMS working group. Christoph Grimm has studied computer engineering at TU Darmstadt and Ecole Centrale
de Lyon and holds a Ph.D. and habilitation of the University of Frankfurt. 2006-2012 he was full professor at
Vienna University of Technology. 2012 he followed a call to the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau.
