As a student of the Master’s in Construction Management & Engineering, you will not only be taught by leading professors in the field, you will also have the opportunity to contribute to high-end research yourself. In your master’s thesis, for example.
Are you curious about the research that is being conducted at the University of Twente (UT), within the research group of Construction Management & Engineering? Find out more about current research themes below.
- Asphalt paving research and innovation
Together with many contractors, UT works on a number of research projects regarding the improvement of asphalt paving and compaction processes, with the use of advanced technologies (e.g. GPS, thermography, digital imaging and Virtual Reality). The goal is to develop insights into construction processes and provide feedback to operators, improve process control and advance productivity, as well as quality and value for clients.
- Climate projects
Climate change is one of the key challenges within the domain of construction management and engineering and thus a highly important research theme at UT. The increase of extreme weather events (drought, heat stress, extreme rainfall), as well as the sea-level rise, urges climate adaptation of the physical environment, but also the reduction of climate change by moving towards more sustainable energy sources.
- Construction Ecosystems Design
Within the construction industry, systemic change is needed when it comes to addressing contemporary challenges (e.g. climate change, digitisation, circular economy). But can this change be achieved in the current competitive, project-based structure of the industry? Within the theme of construction ecosystems design, research aims to gain insights into the future of inter-organisational collaboration, knowledge sharing and innovation practices in infrastructure. In this sense, the industry is seen as an ecosystem, based on networks at project-transcending levels.
- Digital technologies
Building Information Modelling (BIM), AI, Augmented Reality, Digital Twins, Machine Learning: digital technologies play an increasingly significant role within the construction industry. Research within this field is aimed at understanding the preconditions for and effects of digital technologies on users, organisations, and supply chains in construction practice.
- Infrastructure asset management
Professional asset management is crucial when it comes to guaranteeing optimal infrastructure performance. How can you procure and preserve infrastructure systems optimally and in the most cost-efficient way, keeping track of quality and sustainability as well? Research within this theme is aimed at striving for new methods, models and processes that allow optimised decision-making throughout the lifecycle of infrastructure assets.
- Simulation and visualisation
Construction projects are becoming increasingly complex, both on a technological, procedural, and organisational level. This calls for more advanced methods of project planning, with the use of simulation and visualisation techniques. For example, how can you build a digital replica of an actual construction process in order to monitor a project? Research within this theme is aimed at developing tailor-made simulation models that can capture complex project dynamics at both strategic (i.e. managerial) and tactical (i.e. operational) levels.
- Soil mechanics
Soil mechanical models are key in understanding the functioning and integrity of infrastructure. The field of soil mechanics focuses on the development of novel, smart technologies to optimise soil properties (e.g. sand, clays and peats) and the application to construction works and buried infrastructures. Research at UT focuses amongst others on the concept of Smart Soils. This implies the exploitation of microscale features to modify soil as desired and tune hydro-mechanical properties.
- Structural health monitoring
In order to advance the resilience of civil infrastructure, it is important to keep track of the performance of infrastructure. Research within this theme is aimed at providing such monitoring solutions. An example is the use of sensing technologies to collect useful information about the performance of man-made (e.g. dykes, bridges, buildings) and natural (e.g. rivers, coastal dunes) components of infrastructure.
- Systems Engineering
To keep control of construction projects, broad knowledge of all processes and stakeholders is important. The approach of Systems Engineering is based on a different perception of project management from what most construction companies are used to. The focus is more on the processes towards the outcome than on the outcome itself. Within the construction industry, there is a growing interest in this design method. Research within this field is aimed at designing construction processes better and faster.
- Underground
In managing all building, road, and railway construction projects, the effectiveness of conditioning works is crucial. Re-alignment of cables and pipelines is a major part of this. Unfortunately, these conditioning works often cause problems due to their unclear location information, poor alignment between network designs, and other unexpected surprises in the ground. How can such risks be decreased? Research that focuses on the underground, aims to resolve problems regarding coordination, asset management, and safety.