On 2nd, 3rd and 4th July, Aranjuez hosted the 32nd Annual Seminar on Automation, Industrial Electronics and Instrumentation (SAAEI 2025), a landmark conference in the academic and industrial spheres at national level. This year, the event was organised by the Electronic Technology Department of the Rey Juan Carlos University (URJC) and the Electrical Systems Unit of IMDEA Energy, based in Móstoles.

The opening session, held on 2nd July, featured speeches from Joaquín Vaquero López, coordinator of the Electrical, Electronic and Automation Engineering research line at URJC, and Milan Prodanovic, head of the Electrical Systems Unit at IMDEA Energy, both co-organisers of the conference. Also speaking were Félix Marín, Head of Technology Development and Transfer at IMDEA Energía, representing the institute, and Joaquín Rams Ramos, Vice-Rector for Research, Doctoral Studies and Library Services at Rey Juan Carlos University. All of them welcomed participants and emphasised the importance of the event as a meeting point between academia and the productive sector.

SAAEI 2025 brought together 160 participants, including researchers, professionals and representatives from the industrial sector, who came to share scientific advances, exchange ideas and foster collaborations for the development of technological innovation projects.

The scientific programme featured 90 oral presentations, 30 posters, 3 plenary lectures and 5 technical talks, covering topics such as power converters, sensor networks, instrumentation and measurement, electronic systems for energy storage, technological applications in Industry 4.0, smart grids, the Internet of Things (IoT), electric mobility, and educational applications, among many other fields. Sessions were held in person at the historic former San Carlos Hospital building, part of URJC’s Aranjuez campus, located near the Royal Palace.

In addition to the technical sessions, the conference hosted meetings of the PELS-IES and IMS chapters of the IEEE in Spain, dedicated spaces for participating companies, and social activities including a welcome cocktail, a gala dinner, and a cultural tour of Aranjuez.

One of the highlights of the programme was the “Three-Minute Thesis” competition, promoted jointly with the IEEE-WiE (Women in Engineering) programme, which provided visibility to the work of female PhD students and their ability to clearly and concisely communicate the impact of their research.

The event featured the participation of seven sponsoring companies: DATATEC, Grupo Álava, Setup Electrónica, Distron, Rhode & Schwarz, TESINEL and MathWorks, who showcased products and services aligned with the conference’s key themes. This exhibition facilitated direct interaction between the academic community and the business sector, encouraging opportunities for collaboration.

The conference also received institutional support from organisations such as the Research Institute for Sustainability Technologies (ITPS) at URJC, the Higher School of Experimental Sciences and Technology (ESCET) at URJC, and the Spanish chapters of PEIESC and I&M of the IEEE.

The 32nd edition of SAAEI has reaffirmed the vital role of this conference as an essential platform for advancing automation, electronics, and instrumentation. With an eye to the future, we continue to support SAAEI as a reference space for collaboration in the coming years.