Teaching Model-Based Design at Politecnico di Torino

In the region around Turin, Italy, there is strong demand for engineers with the skills and knowledge required to develop complex, high-integrity embedded software. The need is particularly acute among automotive companies, but it affects avionics and other industries, as well. Companies seek engineers who can deliver sophisticated software in compliance with safety standards such as ISO 26262 while adhering to stringent quality requirements and tight production deadlines.

To meet this demand, Politecnico di Torino has introduced Model-Based Software Design, a course for fifth-year students that combines lectures and practical exercises with seminars conducted by local industry experts. Using MATLAB^®, Simulink^®, Stateflow^®, and Embedded Coder^®, students learn how to manage the growing complexity of today’s embedded systems by designing and simulating an executable model; rigorously validating, testing, and debugging it; and generating code for an embedded target. By fostering collaboration and knowledge-sharing between academia and industry, the course is helping prepare the students for the engineering challenges they will face in their future jobs. This presentation outlines the course and the results achieved since its introduction.