Schedule Wednesday Thursday Friday
09:00 Opening & What is MDE? Language Engineering Model-Based Testing
11:00 AI & MDE MDE for DT From PoC to tool
12:00 Career Path (Academic) Hands-on MDE Career Path (Industrial)
14:30 Students Pitch Model Transformation & Management Model V&V
16:30 Product Line Modeling Social event Collaborative work

The program consists of lectures and practical sessions by renowned speakers. Lectures are organized in three categories:

  • [C] Core: Foundational topics on Model-driven engineering (MDE)
  • [T] Topic: Cutting edge topics that demonstrates MDE strenghts
  • [P] Path: time to talk about your career, through inspiring talks and networking opportunities.

Wednesday

Opening & What is MDE? [C]

  • Speaker: Juan de Lara

[Bio]

[Talk description]

AI & MDE [T]

  • Title: The evolving friendship between AI and Software Modeling: From early automation to LLM-augmented practice
  • Speaker: Lola Burgueño

Abstract: Model-Driven Engineering (MDE) has traditionally leveraged automation through models, transformations, and rule-based techniques. Today, advances in Large Language Models (LLMs) are enabling a new generation of AI-driven support. This talk revisits the evolution of AI and MDE and highlights recent advances across the software design phase, including modeling assistants, generation of realistic and diverse test cases, frameworks to assess the capabilities and limitations of LLMs for DSL code generation, techniques for detecting semantic alignments between models and specifications, and ongoing efforts to benchmark modeling datasets for use in machine learning training.

Bio: Lola Burgueño is an Associate Professor at the University of Malaga (UMA), Spain. Her research interests focus mainly on the fields of Software Engineering (SE) and of Model-Driven Software Engineering (MDE). She has made contributions to the application of artificial intelligence techniques to improve software development processes and tools; uncertainty management during the software design phase; model-based software testing, and the design of algorithms and tools for improving the performance of model transformations, among others. She is an active member of the software engineering community. She has been PC (co-)chair of ECMFA’21, SLE’22, JISBD’25 and ICWE’26. She is the General Chair of MODELS’26. She is part of the Editorial Board of the Journal on Software and Systems Modeling (SoSyM), she is a member of the Steering Committee of SLE, MODELS and JISBD, and she is part of the WG on Diversity & Inclusion of Informatics Europe.

Career Path (Academic) [P]

  • Title: A Journey Through the Secret Life of Academics
  • Speaker: Antonio Vallecillo

Abstract: Deciding whether to pursue an academic career is rarely straightforward. Everyone seems to have an opinion, yet clear answers remain elusive. And even for those already on that path, doubts persistently arise: how to move forward, how to grow, and how to navigate the inevitable challenges along the way. In this talk, we will explore the landscape of an academic career — the key decision points, the main challenges to be addressed, and the trade-offs each choice entails. We will reflect on what success actually means in this environment, and examine the often complex relationships with peers, mentors, and students. The session will close with an open Q&A, where participants are encouraged to share their own doubts, experiences, and questions.

Bio: Antonio Vallecillo is a retired Full Professor of Software Engineering at the University of Málaga. His research spans model-based software engineering (MBSE), open distributed processing (ODP), software quality, and uncertainty quantification. Before entering academia, he spent nearly twelve years in the IT industry, working for companies including Fujitsu and ICL. He joined the University of Málaga in 1996, where he led the ATENEA research group and has been an active member of the MODELS community ever since. Throughout his career, Antonio has been active in standardisation, certification, and research evaluation, both in Spain and internationally. He has served as Vice-Rector for Postgraduate and Doctoral Studies at the University of Málaga, President of the Spanish Society for Software Engineering, and Vice-President of the Spanish Computer Science Society. He is a member of the AIAA, a Senior Member of the ACM, and a member of the Academia Europaea.

Student Pitches [P]

  • Facilitators: Leen Lambers & Sébastien Mosser

[Bio]

[Talk description]

Product Line Modelling [T]

  • Title: SPL in action
  • Speaker: Inmaculada Ayala Viñas

Abstract: The course provides a practical introduction to software product lines and variability modeling. Variability is present in our world, and variability models, such as feature models, offer an abstraction for analyzing and modeling it. In this course, we learn how to extract features from families of products and organize them in feature models for analysis. We focus on UVL, the community-driven effort to develop a universal language for modeling variability and its tool ecosystem.

Bio: Inmaculada Ayala is a senior lecturer in the Department of Languages and Computer Science at the University of Málaga. She obtained her PhD degree in Computer Science from the University of Malaga in 2013. Her work is centered on software engineering, with a specific focus on self-adaptive systems and variability modeling. Her most significant publications appear in international journals such as the Journal of Systems and Software, Information and Software Technology, and Knowledge-Based Systems. She has participated in and is currently involved in several EU, national, and regional research projects.

Thursday

Language Engineering [C]

  • Title: Engineering Modeling Languages
  • Speaker: Benoit Combemale

Abstract: This course provides an end-to-end coverage of the engineering of modeling languages to turn domain knowledge into tools. It introduces the foundations of Software Language Engineering (SLE), with a specific focus on the use of modeling techniques for designing and implementing DSLs. It also provides various illustrations through the definition of different kinds of modeling languages, their instrumentation with tools such as editors, interpreters/compilers, debuggers, and generators, the integration of multiple modeling languages to achieve a system view.

Bio: Benoit Combemale is currently Research Director at Inria, on leave from his position of Full Professor of Software Engineering at the University of Rennes. He is evolving within the research team DiverSE, joint to the CNRS Research Institute of Computer Science and Random Systems (IRISA) and Inria. He is also adjunct researcher in the SM@RT team of the CNRS Research Institute in Computer Science of Toulouse (IRIT), Scientific Advisor at TwiinIT and Editor-in-Chief of the Springer-Nature journal about Software and Systems Modeling (SoSyM). He is currently the scientific director of the 6 years French nationwide program about the engineering of digital twins (EDT, cf. edtlab.fr). More information at http://combemale.fr

MDE for Digital Twins [T]

  • Title: MDE for Digital Twins
  • Speaker: Judith Michael

Abstract: This talk discusses the role of MDE in the engineering of digital twins for different kinds of systems and discusses how models can support both the development of digital twins and their operation at runtime. Building on recent research on model-driven digital twin engineering, the talk covers architectures, domain-specific modeling methods, model transformations, runtime models, and methods for integrating data-driven, AI-driven and model-based approaches. Examples from manufacturing, smart ecosystems, and socio-technical systems illustrate how MDE techniques can support reusable and evolvable multi-purpose digital twins. The talk further discusses current research challenges, including interoperability, evolution, quality assurance, integration of heterogeneous models, and the alignment of digital twins with systems engineering practices.

Bio: Judith Michael is full professor of Programming and Software Engineering at the University of Regensburg (Bavaria, Germany), a member of the supervisory board of the Lakeside Science & Technology Park GmbH (Austria), and the spokesperson of the modeling community within the German Informatics Society (GI). Before, she was a PostDoc and team leader at the Software Engineering chair of RWTH Aachen University (Germany). From 2021-2025, she was the deputy coordinator of the workstream A.II “Conceptual Foundations of Digital Shadows” within the German Cluster of Excellence “Internet of Production”. Judith completed her habilitation at RWTH Aachen University on “Model-Driven Engineering of Digital Twins with Informative and Assistive Services” in 2024 and received her PhD in Computer Science about Cognitive Modeling for Ambient Assistance from University of Klagenfurt (Austria) in 2014. Her research focuses on engineering complex, long-lasting, software-intensive systems in an integrated approach with different disciplines. She has experience in the engineering of digital twins, the model-driven software engineering of information and assistive systems, and software language engineering.

Hands-on MDE [C]

  • Speaker: Stefan Klikovits

[Bio]

[Talk description]

Model Transformation & Management [C]

  • Title: Model Processing
  • Speaker: Dimitris Kolovos

Abstract: This session will cover common model processing activities within the context of model-driven engineering, including model querying, model validation, model-to-model and model-to-text transformation. These activities will be demonstrated using selected languages and tools from the Eclipse Epsilon toolkit.

Bio: Dimitris Kolovos is a Professor of Software Engineering in the Department of Computer Science at the University of York, where he researches and teaches automated and model-driven software engineering. He is also an Eclipse Foundation committer, leading the development of the open-source Epsilon model-driven software engineering platform, and an editor of the Software and Systems Modelling journal. He has co-authored more than 200 peer-reviewed papers and his research has been supported by the European Commission, UK’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Innovate UK and by companies such as Rolls-Royce and IBM.

Social Event [P]

[To be announced]

Friday

Model-based Testing [T]

  • Speaker: Zoltàn Micskei & Daniel Vàrro

[Bio]

[Talk description]

Prom POC to Tool [T]

  • Title: Beyond the Proof of Concept: Building Tools that Outlive the Paper
  • Speaker: Alfonso Pierantonio

Abstract: A proof of concept proves an idea; a tool serves a community. The distance between the two is rarely measured in features, but in commitments to users, stability, documentation, and the unglamorous work of keeping something alive long after the paper that introduced it has been cited. The recent rise of coding agents is reshaping that distance: they offer academic software an unprecedented opportunity to demonstrate our ideas at a scale that was previously out of reach, and this matters for any discipline, but especially for MDE, where tools and applications are not illustrations of the research but the very medium in which it is conducted. In this lecture, we draw on the evolution of Jjodel, a collaborative web-based language workbench, to make that distance explicit, and close with a candid inventory of challenges, recommendations and risks for those who already have a prototype on their laptop and are wondering whether it should ever leave it.

Bio: Alfonso Pierantonio is Professor of Software Engineering at the University of L’Aquila, Italy, where he coordinates the SWEN research group. His research lies in Model-Driven and Language Engineering, with a particular focus on tool usability and design. He has authored over 200 scientific articles and has been involved in the organisation of major international conferences, including MoDELS and STAF. He serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Object Technology and sits on the editorial and advisory boards of Software and Systems Modeling and Science of Computer Programming. He has chaired ECMFA 2018 (PC Chair), STAF 2015, and MoDELS 2023 (General Chair), and is a Steering Committee member for ACM/IEEE MoDELS. He co-leads several research and industrial initiatives, and recently launched the Jjodel project (Link to Jjodel), a collaborative web-based language workbench exploring how modern front-end technologies can reshape model-driven platforms.

Career Part (industrial) [P]

  • Title: What Is Life Like After the PhD?
  • Speaker: Paula Muñoz

Abstract: If your PhD still consumes every waking thought, you’re probably focused on surviving reviewer comments rather than imagining what comes next. Academia teaches you to chase questions for curiosity, to build solutions without immediate profit pressure, and to think critically—sometimes as critically as Reviewer 2. But what happens when you step into industry, where priorities shift, and impact is measured differently? In this talk, I’ll share my own journey from academia to industry after finding my next chapter at Google, where I now work with one of its leading cybersecurity teams in Málaga. Together, we’ll explore what Google Málaga does, how VirusTotal became part of Google, and how a piece of Silicon Valley found its way to our city. More importantly, this session is about transition: the opportunities, uncertainties, trade-offs, and lessons learned when moving from research to real-world industry challenges. Bring your questions, your doubts, and your own experiences—and let’s have an honest conversation about what comes after the PhD.

Bio: Paula Muñoz is a Software Engineer at Google, working at its Cybersecurity Engineering Center in Málaga. She earned her PhD from the University of Málaga in February 2025 and joined Google less than a year later. During her PhD, she was part of the ATENEA research group, where her work focused on measuring the fidelity of Digital Twin behavior through time-series analysis. She has also contributed to the research community as Proceedings Co-Chair of MODELS 2024 and received several recognitions during her PhD, including winning the Student Research Competition at MODELS 2022.

Model V&V [C]

  • Speaker: Marsha Chechik

[Bio]

[Talk description]

Collaborative Closing Session [P]

  • Facilitators: Leen Lambers & Sébastien Mosser

[Bio]

[Talk description]