Scarecrow's MBSE Sharkfest
Schedule
Tue, 29 Sep, 2026 at 09:00 am to Wed, 30 Sep, 2026 at 04:30 pm
UTC+01:00Location
Birmingham & Midland Institute | Birmingham, EN
About this Event
A two-day MBSE event featuring:
- presentations from the Scarecrow Team
- presentations from guest speakers
- panel sessions
- prizes
This is a great opportunity, at an incredibly low price (only Β£85 per person for the two days), to enjoy two days of thought-provoking (and possibly contentious!) MBSE content with like-minded people. As well as being entertaining and informative, it is also a great opportunity for networking.
As with previous events, we are again offering our Bring Your Boss for Free tickets. See the ticketing page for details.
Day 1
Note - all sessions and timings are subject to change
π: 08:30 AM - 09:30 AM
Meet & Greet and Low-tech Social Network
Info: Event registration. A chance to network and add yourself to our Low-Tech Social Network wall.
π: 09:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Introduction - MBSE in a Slide - Fears around MBSE
Host: Jon Holt
Info: Welcome to the event. A (brief) history of the BMI. Fears around MBSE.
π: 10:30 AM - 11:15 AM
Leadership & Industrial Challenges
Host: Fadl Isa
Info: Guest speaker Fadl Isa discusses some of the leadership and industrial challenges around the adoption and use of MBSE.
π: 11:15 AM - 11:45 AM
Tea & Coffee
π: 11:45 AM - 12:30 PM
TWO PARALLEL SESSIONS
π: 11:45 AM - 12:30 PM
Adventures in Systems Engineering Taster - Part 1 (parallel session)
Host: Jessica Korzeniowska
Info: A taster session on Jessica's popular introductory 'Adventures in Systems Engineering' books and course.
π: 11:45 AM - 12:30 PM
Empowering Decisions β Understanding the Depths (parallel session)
Host: Mike Brownsword
Info: Make better decisions by selecting, applying and supporting the right systems thinking and model-based tools and techniques.
π: 12:30 PM - 01:30 PM
Lunch
π: 01:30 PM - 02:15 PM
TWO PARALLEL SESSIONS
π: 01:30 PM - 02:15 PM
Adventures in Systems Engineering Taster - Part 2 (parallel session)
Host: Jessica Korzeniowska
Info: The concluding part of the Adventures in Systems Engineering Taster.
π: 01:30 PM - 02:15 PM
Quantum Systems Engineering: Security Through Quantum Mechanics
Host: Stephen Powley
Info: Quantum mechanics offer potential solutions to a lot of scary problems. Not least of these is keeping communications secure in a fast-approaching world where quantum computers can rapidly defeat even the best traditional encryption. Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) systems offer a long-term solution that is already employed in in a few real-world applications demanding high-security, such as large financial transactions. This talk will show how Loughborough University is using MBSE to build a dynamic approach to the security assurance of QKD links and networks that keeps pace with rapidly changing technology.
π: 02:30 PM - 03:15 PM
New to Systems Engineering & MBSE - What were your fears before you started?
Host: Jessica Korzeniowska
Info: Panel session with very early-career systems engineers who have recently joined NATS after undergoing an intense and intensive Systems Engineering course, discussing the fears that they had prior to the training and to taking on their new roles as Systems Engineers.
π: 03:15 PM - 03:45 PM
Tea & Coffee
π: 03:45 PM - 04:30 PM
Panel Session - Facing Your Fears
Host: Jon Holt
Info: A panel session discussing audience-suggested topics around MBSE fears. Close.
Day 2
Note - all sessions and timings are subject to change
π: 08:30 AM - 09:30 AM
Meet & Greet and Low-tech Social Network
Info: Event registration. A chance to network and add yourself to our Low-Tech Social Network wall.
π: 09:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Introduction. MBSE Fears Word Cloud Discussion
Host: Jon Holt
Info: Welcome to Day 2. Jon & Simon discuss MBSE fears submitted by delegates.
π: 10:30 AM - 11:15 AM
Scarecrow's Leadership Programme
Host: Jon Holt
Info: An overview of Scarecrow's MBSE Leadership Programme
π: 11:15 AM - 11:45 AM
Tea & Coffee
π: 11:45 AM - 12:30 PM
TWO PARALLEL SESSIONS
π: 11:45 AM - 12:30 PM
MBSE as a boundary object;how models bring people together or drive them apart
Host: Louise Tipping
Info: An exploration of the role that models can play in facilitating dialogue and transcending knowledge boundaries in organisations.
π: 11:45 AM - 12:30 PM
SysML 2.0 - Hype or Hope? (parallel session)
Host: Constantin Neascu
Info: Dassault's Constantin Neascu discusses whether SysML 2 is MBSE's great hope or modelling hype.
π: 12:30 PM - 01:30 PM
Lunch
π: 01:30 PM - 02:15 PM
TWO PARALLEL SESSIONS
π: 01:30 PM - 02:15 PM
Taming The Shark:Re-architecting MBSE Methodologies in SysML 2 (para. session)
Host: Aurelijus Morkevicius
Info: For years, MBSE has relied on SysML v1. Over the past decade, practitioners have developed a range of methodologies tailored to it. However, these methodologies and their language extensions cannot be directly transferred, as SysML v2 introduces a fundamentally different extension mechanism. At the same time, SysML v2 offers a variety of new capabilities that can strengthen and enhance existing practices.
Through the re-architecture of MagicGrid, the development of SysML v2 libraries for the Unified Architecture Framework v2, and hands-on experience migrating complex, large-scale client methodologies, we have explored the limits of SysML v2. This work has provided critical insights, revealing the strengths, limitations, and inherent complexity of SysML v2, as well as the effort required to transition SysML v1 methodologies to SysML v2.
From libraries to metadata, text to graphical representations, and tool enhancements, this presentation covers everything you need to tame the shark!
π: 01:30 PM - 02:15 PM
Risk, Safety and Securityβfrom dangerous sharksβ teeth to harmless coexistance
Host: Stuart Jobbins
Info: Both Safety and Security are forms of Risk, but as a Systems Engineer, modelling and managing risk needs an understanding of not simply detecting the onset of a risky event, but the technical response (which differs from the project management response) to mitigate against unacceptable failures, and includes support for diagnosis, maintenance and repair.
We will look at Safety as our example and how we need to accommodate issues arising right from concept and initial design, even if the causes are not going to be detailed until technology and implementation choices are made. We will look at how key design and technology choices can be used to mitigate risks.
Additionally, whilst Safety and Security approaches and process steps may appear similar, we will identify how the design responses drive different, sometimes frustrating, solutions.
π: 02:30 PM - 03:15 PM
Shooting Rabbits in A Barrel β Live! 'Caught by the Fuzz'
Host: Jessica Korzeniowska
Info: A live recording of an episode of our βShooting Rabbitsβ in a barrel vid-cast. Prize Draw and Close-down
π: 03:15 PM - 03:45 PM
Tea & Coffee
π: 03:45 PM - 04:30 PM
Summary, Final Thoughts, Prize Draw and Close-down
Host: Jon Holt
Where is it happening?
Birmingham & Midland Institute, 9 Margaret Street, Birmingham, United KingdomEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
GBP 0.00 to GBP 1200.00

















