The paper “Democratizing Control Laboratories: The CE2Labs Initiative” wins the 2026 PRODEL Award for the best paper in Automation Education
The Solar Energy Research Center (CIESOL) celebrates the recognition received by several researchers from the University of Almería (UAL) following the awarding of the 2026 PRODEL Award for the best paper in Automation Education to the article “Democratizing Control Laboratories: the CE2Labs Initiative,” presented at the 57th CEA Conference on Automation, held September 1–4 in Córdoba.
The paper was authored by José Luis Guzmán Sánchez, Juan Diego Gil, Fernando Cañadas-Aránega, Igor M. L. Pataro, Enrique Rodríguez-Miranda, José González-Hernández, Manuel Muñoz-Rodríguez, and Manuel Berenguel, all of whom are affiliated with the University of Almería. The proposal was presented by José Luis Guzmán Sánchez during the meeting of the CEA’s Automation Education Thematic Group, where the four finalist papers for this edition were presented.
The award-winning article addresses one of the main challenges in teaching automation and control: the limited availability of models and experimental resources in university laboratories. In response, it introduces CE2Labs (Unlocking the Development and Experiences of Control Education Labs), an international educational innovation project funded by the IFAC Activity Fund that promotes the development of low-cost, open-source educational labs to facilitate access to hands-on experimentation in automatic control.
The initiative involves the design and construction of experimental platforms with varying levels of complexity, ranging from mechanical devices manufactured using 3D printing to systems based on Arduino and open-source electronics. It also incorporates a web platform designed to share teaching materials, educational experiences, and resources for faculty and students at universities in different countries. Among its most innovative features is the incorporation of gamification strategies inspired by so-called educational escape rooms to foster more dynamic and participatory learning.
Following the evaluation and voting by attendees at the meeting of the Thematic Group on Education in Automation, the University of Almería’s project was selected as the winner of the 2026 PRODEL Award. The award was presented during the CEA’s Honors and Awards ceremony held at the Rector’s Office of the University of Córdoba, where Alberto López Falcón, head of PRODEL’s Technical and Commercial Department, presented the certificate to José Luis Guzmán Sánchez.
This recognition highlights the quality of the research and educational innovation carried out by the control and automation groups at the University of Almería, as well as their commitment to improving practical engineering education. Furthermore, it reinforces the profile of CIESOL, a joint research center of the University of Almería and the Almería Solar Platform (CIEMAT), whose areas of research include modeling, automation, and control applied to energy and environmental systems.