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Schemes for University Lecturers
Industrial Secondment Scheme: Case Study
Improved Efficiency with Automated System Behaviour Validation
 Dr Marko Bacic
University Lecturer in Control Engineering
University of Oxford
Seconded to Renault F1 Team Ltd
Marko Bacic graduated with a
University of Oxford MEng degree in Engineering and
Computer Science in 2001 and received his DPhil
degree from University of Oxford in 2004 for work on
Model Predictive Control. He was appointed as
University Lecturer in Control Engineering in the
Department of Engineering Science at the university
in 2003.
Why a secondment?
Marko was appointed to a
University lectureship prior to the award of his
doctorate and as a result had no familiarity of
working in an industrial environment. He was in the
process of establishing a Hardware-in-the-loop
simulation group at Oxford and it was of paramount
importance to gain information about the key
industrial problems in this research area. Although
one of the primary duties of his post was to
establish and lead an independent research group in
a chosen area of control systems, the post also
involved a significant (~ 40% FTE) teaching
component. He applied for the Royal Academy of
Engineering’s Industrial Secondment award due to his
belief that the provision of the effective, targeted
and industrially-relevant delivery of any control
systems curriculum requires experience of industrial
control system design.
The objectives of the
secondment were:
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To gain experience of
advanced control system design in an industrial
setting
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To gain hands-on
experience of industrial hardware-in-the-loop
simulation
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To identify projects for
final year undergraduate students
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To identify material to be
included in a new lecture course on Industrial
control system design
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To build industrial links
in control system design
Renault F1 Team Ltd, Enstone
Renault F1 Team Limited is
involved in car manufacture for Formula 1 racing.
Marko selected the host company taking into account
a number of criteria including strong Research and
Development component to the business, utilization
of hardware-in-the-loop simulations, high risk-high
reward culture and fast moving business. Two
secondment projects were identified with the
company:
Benefits
All of the objectives of the
secondment were met in full.
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Rather than simply doing
improvements to already designed control
systems, Marko had the unique and unparalleled
opportunity to engage in hands-on control system
design from scratch and to see it through to
completion
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The secondment led to the
identification of projects for final year
undergraduates
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Material/data was
identified for inclusion in a new module on
Industrial Control System Design
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Following the end of his
secondment, he has been appointed as a
consultant to Renault F1 team, thus continuing
the links and collaboration with the company.
‘…..It was a pleasure and a
privilege to be associated with Renault F1. Under
the management and leadership of Tad Czapski,
Director of Vehicle Technology, I was given the
opportunity to carry out control system design
applying modern control techniques to complex
nonlinear systems.
I can say without any
hesitation that, my experience at Renault F1 could
not have been more challenging, exciting and
rewarding.
I am very grateful to the
Royal Academy of Engineering for making this
possible.’
Dr Marko Bacic
Statement from the Industrial Host
‘….The reason for accepting
the request from Marko Bacic for a secondment was
two-fold. Firstly he brought with him specific
knowledge that could be applied to an ongoing
project that was struggling. Secondly, his broad
knowledge was certain to be applicable to several
other areas of our business.
The major project that
Marko worked on was one that was very difficult to
solve. To add to the pressure, there was only a
finite period of time when this project could be
deployed and exploited because of upcoming
regulation changes for Formula One. During the
intense period of the project, Marko brought his
considerable knowledge in the area of control theory
to bear on the problems.
We will certainly remain
receptive to further secondments but we will always
need to match a request with a need. Marko’s
secondment was exceptional and we are already
continuing our collaboration with him and the
University. I hope this will be maintained and
developed further over the coming years.’
Tad Czapski
Vehicle Technology Director
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