Discrete Event Systems 6 CFU

Discrete Event Systems - A.Y. 2026/2027

Elective Course (Type D) in English • Bachelor's Degree L-8 in Ingegneria Elettronica e Informatica • 3rd year • 60 hours, 6 CFU • Department of Engineering — University of Ferrara

Quick Information

Google Classroom: access with course code xxx (for course enrolment and course communications when activated).

The course, teaching material and examination are in English. Communications concerning lectures, exercises, teaching material and examination sessions will be provided through the official course channels and, when activated, through Google Classroom or other University teaching platforms.

Student Feedback and Well-being

Required Background

Learning Objectives and Expected Skills

The course aims to provide students with the fundamental concepts, modelling tools and analysis methods for Discrete Event Systems, with particular attention to applications in automation, computer-controlled systems, manufacturing systems, communication networks, embedded systems and service systems.

Discrete Event Systems are dynamic systems whose state evolution is driven by the asynchronous occurrence of discrete events rather than by continuous-time variables. Typical examples include automated production lines, robotic cells, transport systems, computer networks, communication protocols, embedded controllers, resource-sharing systems and queueing systems.

The course introduces formal and computational tools for representing, analysing, simulating and controlling systems characterised by logical states, events, concurrency, synchronisation, resource constraints and, in some cases, timing and stochastic behaviour. The course also provides practical skills for building simple models of Discrete Event Systems and for evaluating their qualitative and quantitative behaviour.

At the end of the course, students will be able to:

Course Contents

The course consists of 60 hours of teaching activities, including lectures, classroom exercises and modelling/simulation tutorials. The following topics will be covered.

Teaching Methods

The course is organised into lectures, classroom exercises and modelling/simulation tutorials.

Examination and Assessment

The examination aims to assess the achievement of the learning outcomes described above, with particular reference to the ability to model, analyse and interpret the behaviour of Discrete Event Systems.

The examination consists of a written test. The test may include theoretical questions, modelling exercises and numerical problems.

The final mark is expressed out of 30. The assessment takes into account the correctness of the theoretical answers, the correctness and completeness of the models, the accuracy of the calculations, the consistency of the assumptions adopted, the correct use of terminology and notation, and the ability to interpret the obtained results in relation to engineering applications.

To pass the examination, students must obtain a final mark of at least 18/30. The examination is held in English.

Teaching Material

The slides, lecture notes, exercises and supporting material provided by the lecturer cover the course syllabus and represent the main material for examination preparation.

Detailed Lecture Topics and Recorded Lectures

This section will be progressively updated during the First Semester. For each teaching day, the lecture topic and, when available, the link to the recorded lecture will be reported.

Planned thematic blocks

MATLAB and Simulink Exercises and Recorded Tutorials

This section will collect the practical examples developed during classroom and laboratory activities. For each exercise, MATLAB/Simulink files, supporting material and, when available, the corresponding recorded tutorial will be provided.

Application Areas and Case Studies

Application-oriented examples may include the modelling, analysis and simulation of:

The objective is to combine logical modelling, Petri nets, stochastic models and simulation to support engineering analysis and decision making.

References and Textbooks

The following textbooks are recommended for further study and are not compulsory for examination preparation:

Sustainability and UN Sustainable Development Goals

The course contributes to the achievement of the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda:

Course Coordination and Teaching Support

The course is coordinated by the lecturer responsible for the teaching activity, who is in charge of the overall organisation of the course, the coherence of the syllabus and teaching material, examination preparation, assessment procedures, and communication with students.

Part of the course may be delivered by an international visiting professor, who may contribute to lectures, seminars, exercises, tutorials and/or application-oriented case studies on selected topics in Discrete Event Systems, in line with their specific expertise and in coordination with the course lecturer.

The course lecturer and the visiting professor will coordinate teaching activities to ensure continuity across the different parts of the course and consistency among lectures, exercises, teaching materials and learning outcomes. The final assessment remains organised according to the examination methods described in the syllabus.

If tutors are available, they may support classroom exercises, modelling tutorials, simulation activities and clarification sessions under the supervision of the course lecturer.

Office hours and individual support activities will be communicated by the lecturer at the beginning of the course.