Conley's index and connection matrices for non-experts

This is a self-contained tour of the Conley index and connection matrices. The starting point is Conley's fundamental theorem of dynamical systems. There is a short stop at the necessary topological background, before we proceed to the basic properties of the index. Then, the itinerary passes through the construction of connection matrices with a panoramic view of the applications: detect heteroclinic orbits arising in delay differential equations, and partial differential equations of parabolic type. The ride will be filled with examples and figures.