Test repeats and oral exams

16 janeiro 2026, 11:16 • Duarte Pedro Mata de Oliveira Valério

Test repeats will take place, as announced, on January 23. Only room Q4.1 will be used.

Oral exams, for the students to whom these are needed, will take place on January 28, during the morning (hours to be announced). Students who chose not to sit the oral exam during the first week of January may do so now.

Enroling for the first presentation of System Identification

17 setembro 2025, 00:46 • Duarte Pedro Mata de Oliveira Valério

On Wednesday, September 17, at 09h00, enrolment for the first presentation of System Identification begins. This presentation corresponds to questions 6 to 18 of the Laboratory Guide, as indicated in section Materials for classes.

Both students working together in the laboratory should enrol, using Fenix, in one of two groups (and should enrol in the same time slot of the same group, of course).

• There are 7 slots to present on Monday, September 29. The corresponding group is called "Presentation 1, Monday".
• There are 12 slots to present on Tuesday, September 30. The corresponding group is called "Presentation 1, Tuesday".

In each day, students will present their work in class according to the numerical order of the slot they chose. Nobody has to attend to the presentations of the other pairs of students, but you are most welcome to do so, and will very likely benefit both from what colleagues will say and from professors' questions and comments.

This enrolment only applies to the first presentation; consequently, you may later on change the weekday in which you will present your work in the following presentations, should that be convenient for you.

Once you enrol, either member of the pair of students will have access to the project in which your work is to be submitted:

• there is a project called "Presentation 1 delivery, Monday", available for students enrolled in group "Presentation 1, Monday";
• there is another project called "Presentation 1 delivery, Tuesday (DELIVERY DEADLINE ON MONDAY)", available for students enrolled in group "Presentation 1, Tuesday".

The name of this second project is a reminder that the deadline to submit your work is the same for everyone, viz. Monday, 18h00.

Please remember the rules for presentations which were made available in this Announcement:

Presentations address the questions listed in the Laboratory Guide. Each group must submit a zip or rar file by Monday, 18h00, containing:

• the file used as support of the presentation (e.g. PowerPoint or PDF),
• the data files collected in the laboratory,
• the Matlab code used to obtain the results.

Groups that fail to submit the file in time may still present their work, with a -50% penalty on the grade.

Some groups will present their work on Monday, some on Tuesday; Fenix will be used to enrol each group in one of these days (...).

Each group has 5 minutes to present the work; it is imperative that this time will not be exceeded. The faculty will project the file submitted on Monday. Both group members must attend. Questions will be asked. Students must be ready to show, using Matlab, the experimental data collected, and that the code used to obtain results does indeed run. Presentations in English are welcome, but there is no penalty in the grade if the presentation is in Portuguese.

How the System Identification course works

31 agosto 2025, 19:33 • Miguel Afonso Dias de Ayala Botto

Dear students:

Welcome to the Systems Identification course, taking place during the 1st semester of 2025/2026.

To find details on what this course is about, and on what you are assumed to know from your undergraduate studies as you begin this course, please check section Materials for classes.

This announcement covers the following subjects:

1. Individual study; 2. Language; 3. Evaluation methods; 4. Materials for classes; 5. Office hours; 6. How lectures will work; 7. How laboratory classes will work; 8. How presentations will work.

1. Individual study

This course corresponds to 6 ECTS. It is thus expected that each student should spend 168 hours during the semester with the course. Since there will be 40 hours of lectures and 7 hours of laboratory classes, a student that attends all classes is still expected to spend about 121 hours studying. As there are 20 weeks from the beginning of the semester to the repeat of the tests, this corresponds to over 6 hours per week studying theory, solving problems, preparing laboratory work, and preparing presentations.

2. Language

According to IST rules in force for second cycle courses with foreign students, the course will be in English.

3. Evaluation methods

Evaluation comprises 5 oral presentations (referred to as “Laboratory presentation 1…5” in the Time Line and Topics for Each Test) and 2 tests.

Each test has the duration of 30 minutes. Each student may consult at most one A4 page (recto and verso) brought by him/her. No list of formulas will be given. Programmable calculators cannot be used (in case of need, faculty will reset the memory of students’ calculators). There is a chance to repeat one or both tests two weeks after the semester is over (at the Final Exam date).

The final mark of the course in [0, 20] is given by

P1 + P2 + P3 + P4 + P5 + max(T1, T1R) + max(T2, T2R)

where:

• Pn = mark of presentation n

• Tn = mark of test n

• TnR = mark of the repeat of test n

The weights of each evaluation in the final mark are as follows:

• P1, P2: 17.5% = 3.5 / 20

• P3, P4, P5: 15% = 3.0 / 20

• T1: 5% = 1.0 / 20

• T2: 15% = 3.0 / 20

The minimum average grade for the oral presentations is 47.5%, which translates to P1+P2+P3+P4+P5 ≥ 7.6 (in a possible total of 16). For presentation 5, groups may correct mistakes found in the work of previous presentations. A bonus in the grade will be given accordingly.

There is no minimum grade for the tests.

The final grade must be 9.5 or above to pass the course.

There will be an oral exam to confirm the mark of every student if the final mark:

• is above 17 (the final mark will be 17 if the student does not attend an oral exam);

• is considered doubtful by faculty.

In special evaluation period, students thereto entitled may be evaluated for the tests and/or the presentations.

4. Materials for classes

In section Materials for classes of the course’s web page, you can find material to study each week of the semester: videos to watch, and chapters of the Lecture Notes to read. You are expected to arrive in class having studied this material already.

5. Office hours

You can contact the faculty with your questions on the subjects you are studying on the following days and hours:

• Duarte Valério: Mondays, 09h00-09h30

• Miguel Ayala Botto: Tuesdays, 15h00-16h30

Please send an e-mail to the faculty member (ayalabotto@tecnico.ulisboa.pt, duarte.valerio@tecnico.ulisboa.pt) the day before, and say whether you want to go to his office or talk by Zoom.

6. How lectures will work

Lectures take place in the appointed rooms at Mondays and Tuesdays.

There are 9 weeks in the semester during which exercises will be solved in these classes. There are 5 weeks in the semester during which presentations will take place during these classes. You can find the schedule in the course webpage, section Materials for classes.

7. How laboratory classes will work

You may enrol in one of two shifts: one on Monday, another on Friday. Classes will take place in the Control, Automation and Robotics Laboratory, Mechanical Engineering III building, basement floor 1. (A third shift, also on Friday, is not expected to be necessary this academic year.)

Laboratory assignments are carried out in groups of two students, which will not change during the semester. If possible, please try to form a group with a colleague in your shift in advance. It is recommended that Erasmus students form a group with a colleague from a different country. At the beginning of the first laboratory class, the instructor will assign groups to students who still do not have one.

Attendance to the first three classes is compulsory for all students, under penalty of a 0 mark in the corresponding presentations. Duly documented cases of force majeure will be exempted. Attendance to the last two classes is optional. 

Laboratory work is evaluated during the presentations which take place during the lectures on 5 weeks of the semester. You can find the schedule in the course webpage, section Materials for classes.

For further information, see the introduction of the Laboratory Guide in the course webpage, section Materials for classes.

8. How presentations will work

Presentations address the questions listed in the Laboratory Guide. Each group must submit a zip or rar file by Monday, 18h00, containing:

•  the file used as support of the presentation (e.g. PowerPoint or PDF),

•  the data files collected in the laboratory,

•  the Matlab code used to obtain the results.

Groups that fail to submit the file in time may still present their work, with a -50% penalty on the grade.

Some groups will present their work on Monday, some on Tuesday; Fenix will be used to enrol each group in one of these days, but the order in each class will be random. September 17 update: this year, you may choose the time slot of your presentation.

Each group has 5 minutes to present the work; it is imperative that this time will not be exceeded. The faculty will project the file submitted on Monday. Both group members must attend. Questions will be asked. Students must be ready to show, using Matlab, the experimental data collected, and that the code used to obtain results does indeed run. Presentations in English are welcome, but there is no penalty in the grade if the presentation is in Portuguese.