SCADA
Citect SCADA and AVEVA Plant SCADA
Build a SCADA project in AVEVA Plant SCADA (formerly Citect), from device links and variables to pages, alarms and Cicode.
Citect SCADA and AVEVA Plant SCADA is a free, self-paced online course from EDWartens for engineering students, apprentices, technicians and working engineers in automation and control. It has 11 modules and takes about 11.5 hours, with written notes, a practice task per module, a practical project and a final assessment of 15 questions (pass mark 60%). Learning costs nothing and needs only a free account. The optional EDWartens Certificate of Completion, verifiable by code, is a one-off US$23.99 for you; it is not a vendor credential. Updated 1 November 2026.
- Free
- Beginner
- 11.5 hours
- Self-paced
- Certificate optional
- Lab practice in your browser
No card, no trial. The course is free for good. Certificate US$23.99, optional.
- Who it is for
- Engineering students, apprentices, technicians and working engineers in automation and control
- Jobs
- Roles that use this skill: SCADA engineer, HMI developer, control room technologist and systems integrator. No course guarantees a job.
- Tools
- AVEVA Plant SCADA (formerly Citect SCADA), trial/demo mode. Hardware: none. Modbus and OPC simulators provide data.
- Updated
After this course you can
By the end you will be able to:
- Install Plant SCADA and create a project
- Connect Modbus and OPC devices
- Generate variables and model equipment
- Design pages with symbols, buttons and animation
- Configure alarms and write basic Cicode
Who it is for, and what you need first
Who it is for
Engineering students, apprentices, technicians and working engineers in automation and control.
Level: Beginner. Beginner to intermediate. PLC basics assumed.
What you need
Software: AVEVA Plant SCADA (formerly Citect SCADA), trial/demo mode.
Hardware: None. Modbus and OPC simulators provide data.. What to download, and how.
How this course works
Watch the lessons
Short video lessons, one module at a time, at your own pace.
Read the notes
Open the Reading tab for the written notes and diagrams of the module.
Practise in the 3D labOptional
Try the module in the free 3D lab, in your browser.
Check yourself
Answer the questions to see what stuck before you move on.
Final assessment
Pass the final once you have been through the modules.
Certificate, if you want oneOptional
Optional, with a page anyone can use to verify it.
What you learn
11 modules in order, at your own pace. 11.5 hours of video lessons, with written notes and a practice task in each module.
- 1Install and First Project14m
- 2Project Structure and Page Templates24m
- 3Devices and Communication22m
- 4Variables, with lab practice: 7m
- 5Equipment Modelling35m
- 6Graphics Pages and Symbols, with lab practice: 18m
- 7Buttons and Animation, with lab practice: 51m
- 8Genies, Super Genies and Popups, with lab practice: 1h 36m
Show the other 3 modules
- 9Alarms, with lab practice: 17m
- 10Events, Menus, Cicode and Excel9m
- 11Final Assessment
Software you need
What to download, where from, what it costs and how to install it. Every link goes to the maker's own site, never a mirror.
Show what to download (1 tool)
Required
- 01Licensed, via AVEVA or a distributor
AVEVA Plant SCADA (formerly Citect SCADA)
AVEVA
- Runs on
- Windows (check the vendor system requirements)
- Account
- Access to the AVEVA customer support portal, or an AVEVA distributor
There is no public download. Installers come from the AVEVA customer support portal or a distributor. Once installed, Plant SCADA runs without a licence in demo mode: 15 minutes with real I/O, or 10 hours with at most one dynamic real I/O point (memory and disk I/O).
Steps
- 1.Ask your employer, college or a local AVEVA distributor for access to Plant SCADA.
- 2.Install it from the media they provide.
- 3.Start it without a hardware key to run in demo mode.
- 4.Use memory and disk I/O tags so the 10-hour demo mode applies.
- Writing to more than one tag through DDE, CTAPI or ODBC switches the demo to the 15-minute mode.
AVEVA product pageaveva.comLegitimate free routes
- AVEVA InTouch HMI trial: AVEVA's own free trial download, open to anyone who registers.
- Ignition (trial mode): Free SCADA platform that runs in 2-hour sessions with unlimited restarts.
- FUXA: Free, open-source web SCADA and HMI.
Checked against each maker's own page on 27 September 2026. Trial lengths and editions change; the maker's page is the final word.
Practise in the 3D lab
Practise what a SCADA screen is for: build a plant overview and set alarm limits and priorities, the same design choices you make in Plant SCADA.
- Read the P&IDProcess lab, about 20 minOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): Read the P&ID
- Build an operator screenProcess lab, about 45 minOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): Build an operator screen
- Alarm rationalisationProcess lab, about 50 minOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): Alarm rationalisation
Optional. Skip it whenever you like: it never blocks your progress or your certificate.
Course project, about 18 hours
Sugar mill boiler house on AVEVA Plant SCADA: equipment-based tags, genie faceplates and rationalised alarms
Replace two OEM boiler screens with one AVEVA Plant SCADA project built from equipment types, genie pages and a rationalised alarm list. You deliver your tag list, alarm list and FAT record, with a project backup if you have the software. The sample pack shows what an integrator hands a mill.
- 10documents in the pack
- 10steps to follow
- 7things to hand in
- 18 hof work, at your pace
- URSUser Requirements: Boiler House Supervisory System
- Network architectureNetwork Architecture: Boiler Control Room, Servers and PLC Links
- IP planIP Address Plan and Device List
- Tag listVariable Tag List, Equipment Hierarchy and Naming Convention
- Alarm philosophyAlarm Philosophy: Boiler House
- Alarm listAlarm List: Boilers 1 and 2, Header and Turbine Interface
The project is optional practice. The certificate needs only the modules and the final assessment.
After the course, your next step
Show what you can do, then keep going in the same field.
A certificate you can verify
Finish the modules and pass the final assessment (15 questions, pass mark 60%) and you can add a certificate with a public verification page. One-off, US$23.99 for you. It is not a vendor credential.
Want a free certificate? Do the matching Free internship: 4 weeks, nothing to buy, with a free certificate of completion.
SCADA and HMI
Eight short weeks of tags, screens, alarms and trends: notes, diagrams, a few videos and practice in LADX Mini and free web SCADA tools. Finish weeks 1 to 4 and the final, then claim a free Internship Completion Certificate with your real dates and study hours, and a QR code anyone can scan to verify it. Training, not employment.
See the internshipMore free courses
Roles that use this skill
- SCADA engineer
- HMI developer
- Control room technologist
- Systems integrator
These are the kinds of roles where the skill is used. We make no promise of a job or an interview.
Plain notes
- Free: the whole course, the notes, the practice tasks, the final assessment and support from practising engineers.
- Paid, and optional: the course certificate, and the Engineer-verified internship (the Free internship costs nothing).
- No job promise: the course teaches a skill. It does not place you in a job.
- Lessons by: Control System Guru, Tahon Automation. Independent creators; the lessons stream from their own channels. EDWartens wrote the study plan, notes, practice tasks and assessments.
Control System Guru · Tahon Automation. If you are one of these creators and want a lesson removed or credited differently, write to info@edwartens.com.
Practise what you learn in the free 3D lab
Technical work is judged on what you can do: wiring, commissioning, finding a fault. Doing a task yourself teaches more than watching it a second time, and a lab lets you try it safely before you meet real equipment. It does not replace working on real hardware.
- Practise safely, so a mistake costs nothing.
- The lab checks your work like a site test, so you know when it is right.
- Free, in your browser, with nothing to install.
Why learn with EDWartens
What you get with this course, and what comes after it.
- Free from the first lesson to the final assessment.
- Practice in a free 3D lab in your browser, with nothing to install.
- Video lessons with written notes and a project.
- An optional certificate that anyone can verify online.
- Free internships to keep practising afterwards.
Common questions
Citect or Plant SCADA?
Same product: Citect SCADA is now called AVEVA Plant SCADA. The lessons cover both names and the 2023 release.
Is there a free version?
AVEVA offers a trial, and the software also runs in a time-limited demo mode. Build the project as the reduced subset the brief describes so it fits inside the demo limits.
Some source lessons are members-only. Are they included?
No. One series was entirely members-only and was left out; the remaining series are public.
Is the Citect SCADA and AVEVA Plant SCADA course really free?
Yes. Every module, practice task and assessment. You create an account so your progress is saved and the assessments can be marked. The certificate is the only paid item, and only if you want it.
What certificate do I get, and is it an AVEVA qualification?
An EDWartens Certificate of Completion, issued when you pass the final assessment, with a verification code anyone can check. It is not an AVEVA credential and is never described as one.
Who made the video lessons in the Citect SCADA and AVEVA Plant SCADA course?
The creators named in the Credits block at the foot of this page, on their own YouTube channels. EDWartens did not make the videos and the creators are not affiliated with EDWartens. What EDWartens wrote is the study plan, the notes, the practice tasks and the assessments.
How long does the Citect SCADA and AVEVA Plant SCADA course take?
Plan on about 12 hours in all, including the video lessons, notes and practice tasks. It is self-paced, so you work through the eleven modules at your own speed.
Do I have to use the lab?
No. The lab is optional practice. You can skip it whenever you like, and it never blocks your progress, the final assessment or your certificate.
Is the lab free?
Yes. Every lab level for this course opens in your browser, free, with nothing to install.
What topics does the Citect SCADA and AVEVA Plant SCADA course cover, module by module?
The Citect SCADA and AVEVA Plant SCADA course has 11 modules. It opens with "Install and First Project", goes through "Project Structure and Page Templates", "Equipment Modelling", "Buttons and Animation" and "Events, Menus, Cicode and Excel" and ends with "Final Assessment". The full list with minutes is under "What you learn" on this page.
What can I do after the Citect SCADA and AVEVA Plant SCADA course?
After the Citect SCADA and AVEVA Plant SCADA course: Install Plant SCADA, create, back up and restore projects; Explain clusters and the I/O, alarm, trend and report servers and build page templates; Connect Modbus TCP, Modbus serial, OPC DA and a Modicon M340. These are the practical outcomes the course is written around, and the final assessment of 15 questions checks them.
What software and hardware do I need for the Citect SCADA and AVEVA Plant SCADA course, and does it cost anything?
For the Citect SCADA and AVEVA Plant SCADA course, software: AVEVA Plant SCADA (formerly Citect SCADA), trial/demo mode. Hardware: none. Modbus and OPC simulators provide data. The course itself is free.
Is the Citect SCADA and AVEVA Plant SCADA course suitable for me, and what level is it?
Citect SCADA and AVEVA Plant SCADA is rated beginner. Beginner to intermediate. PLC basics assumed. It is written for engineering students, apprentices, technicians and working engineers in automation and control, and takes about 11.5 hours at your own pace.
Which jobs use the skills from the Citect SCADA and AVEVA Plant SCADA course?
Skills from the Citect SCADA and AVEVA Plant SCADA course (for example: install Plant SCADA, create, back up and restore projects) are used in roles such as SCADA engineer, HMI developer, control room technologist and systems integrator, and in SCADA engineer work. The course gives you practical evidence of the skill; it does not promise a job, and employers decide on experience and interview.
Start free today
Citect SCADA and AVEVA Plant SCADA, at your own pace. Add the certificate only if you want one.