ECTS credits: 10 ECTS
Course parameters:
Language: English
Level of course: PhD course as an extension of a MSc level course of the same name
Time of year: Spring 2026
No. of contact hours/hours in total incl. preparation, assignment(s) or the like: 14*8 contact hours + approximately 200 hours for preparation and establishing all aspects of a digital twin to be used for further research purposes subsequently
Capacity limits: None
Course fee: 0 DKK
Objectives of the course:
The "Engineering Digital Twins" course provides an in-depth academic exploration into the conceptualization, design, and implementation of digital twins, particularly focusing on cyber-physical systems. The course is structured into several key components, each aimed at building a comprehensive understanding and practical capability in digital twin engineering.
Learning outcomes and competences:
At the end of the course, the student should be able to:
Compulsory programme:
The course has five mandatory group assignments, which each illustrate parts of the engineering of digital twins.
Course contents:
This course covers the essential components and techniques for developing and utilizing digital twins. It begins with an overview of digital twins, their key elements, and models used for cyber-physical systems. Topics include state machines, Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs), and methods for calibration. The course also addresses real-time data exchange, advanced services like software sensing, Kalman filtering, and deep learning, as well as 2D and 3D visualization tools. It further explores co-simulation, system monitoring and optimization, and the deployment of Digital Twins as a Service (DTaaS).
Prerequisites:
The following knowledge is recommended:
- Linear algebra.
- Additional mathematics courses (e.g. discrete math and calculus)
- General knowledge about engineering (e.g. systems engineering)
- Basic programming skills (in e.g. C, C++ or Python)
- Ideally experience in modelling either discrete or continuous systems.
Name of lecturers:
Claudio Gomes (ECE) + Peter Gorm Larsen (ECE) + Michael Sandberg (MPE) + Giuseppe Abbiati (CAE) + 3 guest lectures
Type of course/teaching methods:
There will be a lecture every week and the students need to produce their own digital twin with a number of services. The latter will be documented with a series of five reports including demonstration of their capabilities. The MSc students will have to do the same except they will get parts of the solutions for fixed cases where the PhD students will have to engineer their own digital twin without getting parts of the solution delivered. Thus, it mainly makes sense attending this PhD in case
Literature:
John Fitzgerald, Claudio Gomes and Peter Gorm Larsen (eds), The Engineering of Digital Twins, Springer-Verlag, ISBN 978-3-031-66718-3, September 2024. A number of additional scientific publications.
Course homepage:
The MSc level course is described at https://kursuskatalog.au.dk/da/course/138051/Engineering-Digital-Twins
Course assessment:
The course has five mandatory group assignments, which each illustrate parts of the engineering of digital twins. The final of these reports will include presentations in the form of videos.
Provider:
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Special comments on this course:
The course is managed via the AU Brightspace platform, so all students need be given access to that.
Time: Tuesdays from 8:15 to 12:00 and Thursdays from 12:15 to 16:00 starting the 27th of January 2026 and lasting 14 weeks.
Place: At Aarhus University (at Katrinebjerg in Aarhus N)
Course fee: DKK 0
Registration:
Deadline for registration is the starting day of the spring semester. Information regarding admission will be sent out no later than the starting day of the spring semester.
If you have any questions, please contact Peter Gorm Larsen e-mail: pgl@ece.au.dk
