Andrea Bertozzi and Giacomo Farinella drove to Bertinoro, Emilia Romagna, Italy, to attend the 29th edition of the SIDRA PhD Summer School, held at the Centro Universitario Residenziale di Bertinoro.

In the first part of the week, we were introduced to Open Multi-Agent Systems (OMAS) by Prof. Mauro Franceschelli and Dr. Diego Deplano, from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering of the University of Cagliari. We learned about modeling techniques for OMAS, with particular attention to application-driven scenarios. In addition, we heard about the main research challenges in this field, including stability, consensus, optimization, and learning.

Later in the week, we focused on optimization and learning for robot control, instructed by Prof. Andrea Del Prete and Prof. Michele Focchi, from the Department of Industrial Engineering of the University of Trento. We explored the main challenges in modeling and control of robotic systems, with particular emphasis on optimization-based and reinforcement learning approaches.

In addition to learning about these topics, we connected with fellow PhD students from other Italian universities and beyond, and experienced the delicious culinary and winary tradition of Romagna. We are sincerely grateful to the instructors and to the organizers for the fantastic experience!