EN 
DE With 120 presentations and seminars, some 1,000 attendees, and an agenda covering everything from AI to regulations, ESE Kongress 2025 once again covered what is driving and motivating embedded developers. Above all, it became clear that 2025 was the year in which AI agents became mainstream as code assistants.
ESE Kongress 2025, held from 1 to 5 December, once again demonstrated the vibrancy, eagerness to learn, and enthusiasm for discussion within the embedded systems community. With 120 presentations and seminars, the event was once again well attended, offering the familiar and collegial atmosphere for which ESE Kongress is known.
The attendees again awarded top marks, both in terms of content and organization: Exhibitors gave an overall grade of 1.57, while participants rated the event an average of 1.56 (1 = best). For almost 40% of them, Germany's largest specialist conference on embedded software engineering was completely new territory: 396 attendees were at ESE for the first time.
The free online preconference also sent a strong signal: Participation was exceptionally high this year. Even if companies seemed to be tight on travel and training budgets, the high turnout showed that the hunger and need for knowledge and information exchange remains as strong as ever, and that the preconference has become an established and important starting point for the ESE week.
AI agents will become important helpers in code development.
Perhaps the most obvious crowd-pleaser was the track on Artificial Intelligence – especially where the discussion focused on AI as a concrete tool for writing and developing program code. Presentations such as "From Copilot to Crew – How Coding Agents Will Transform Embedded Teams in 2025," "Using AI-Generated Code in Demanding Industrial Applications," "Large Language Models in Software Engineering," and "Artificial Intelligence as a Driver of Efficiency and Quality" resonated with current trends. Discussions quickly made it clear that AI has arrived in the area of embedded systems – not as a gimmick, but as a tool that transforms processes. Whether it's assistance with refactoring, improved test coverage, faster analysis of legacy code, or new forms of collaboration between humans and agents: many attendees got concrete ideas on how to optimize quality and speed in everyday work without relinquishing control.
Specific knowledge requirements regarding the Cyber Resilience Act and best practices for implementation and architecture
In parallel, a second top topic remained highly prominent: the Cyber Resilience Act. The compact seminars on regulations, security requirements, and practical implementation in development organizations were particularly well-attended. The high demand was a clear indication of how much this topic concerns developers – and how high the need for information remains.
The combination of contextualization, concrete recommendations for action, and the exchange of best practices made these sessions so valuable. Many discussions revolved around how teams can meaningfully integrate requirements into their processes without becoming bogged down in bureaucracy – and how security, documentation, and product responsibility can be pragmatically combined.
The track on testing and quality also continued to attract strong interest: "Cultivating and Managing Technical Debt" and "The Good, the Bad, and the Bug" demonstrated how much the community is simultaneously committed to clean engineering and an honest culture of learning from mistakes. ESE Kongress thus remains what it has been for years: a realistic compass between innovation and craftsmanship.
It was striking, however, that the automotive track, a pillar in the ESE agenda for 17 years, saw comparatively low attendance in 2025. A significant decline in attendee numbers was observed specifically from this sector; a gap that was also felt in the event venue. This aligns with the current weakness of the automotive industry in German-speaking countries, where increased restraint regarding travel and budgets is evident in many places.
All the more remarkable was the voice of those who were there nevertheless: Several attendees emphasized that the need for information and further training is higher than ever, especially in this segment. Between the pressure of transformation, software complexity, and regulatory requirements, the desire for exchange is growing – even if not all teams are currently able to realize it.
Groundbreaking keynotes, excellent speakers
ESE Kongress once again demonstrated its strength during the keynote speeches: Nearly 400 attendees listened to Andreas Willert's keynote "How AI and Knowledge Graphs Are Revolutionizing the World." His central message—to move beyond reductionism and prioritize systems thinking—resonated with the audience, particularly because the transfer to complex engineering domains with nodes, relationships, and dependencies became immediately tangible.
The remaining days of the event also provided valuable insights for both the mind and daily life. On Wednesday, Prof. Dr. Volker Busch spoke about stress management in times of information overload and demonstrated practical ways to better cope with sensory overload, multitasking, and everyday digital stress – a topic that resonated with many, both professionally and personally, making it clear that ESE Kongress has long since transcended purely technical topics.
A particular highlight of the fourth ESE day was Stefanie Voss' keynote "The Pirate Strategy – What we can learn about agility from historical pirates." Interactive, inspiring, and a refreshing contrast to the in-depth technical presentations, it revolved around daring, breaking conventions, and questioning the status quo – true to the motto: nothing ventured, nothing gained.
The ESE 2025 week also included the recognition of outstanding contributions: Johannes Bergsmann received the Best Speaker Awards for the highest-rated speakers of the previous year for his seminar "Agile Requirements Engineering Beyond User Stories". Further Best Speaker Awards went to Dr. René Graf ("We have an idea, but do we have a product?"), Daniel Penning ("Visual Studio Code for Embedded Projects?") and Christoph Schmiedinger ("Less is more – What we can learn from frugal innovations"). The Newcomer Award went to Malte Kaiser for "Coprocessor to Linux: Can you hear me?".
Ultimately, it was the encounters outside the conference rooms that truly defined ESE Kongress: a superbly attended trade exhibition, intense networking, and the traditional table kicker tournament as a reliable mood booster. Thursday evening was also a special moment, when ESE co-founder and organizer MicroConsult celebrated its 30th anniversary.
In summary, ESE Kongress 2025 showed that the community remains stable and the thirst for knowledge is growing - and that, in the 2010s, what sounded like something from the future has long since become part of everyday life.