CIB is pleased to announce the winner of the CIB Keith Hampson ECR-Industry award 2024 is Arghavan Akbarieh of Eindhoven University of Technology. Arghavan will use her award to further research on creating an AI-driven serious game that supports construction professionals in ISO 19650 standards and openBIM practices.
“I am very happy to receive the CIB Keith Hampson ECR-Industry award, which will help me advance my research into gamification and digital construction education. This support enables us to continue developing advanced and engaging tools for BIM upskilling that I hope will benefit many professionals in the industry.”
Arghavan Akbarieh
The award is generously endowed by Keith Hampson, CIB President from 2019 to 2022, and aims to encourage industry collaboration by ECRs. This is the third awarding of the prize which was first announced during the World Building Congress 2022 hosted by RMIT in Melbourne.
Explaining the value of the winning project, Srinath Perera , Chair of the CIB Future Leaders Group said
Although BIM has been in existence for over three decades adoption of BIM in the construction sector is still at basic levels. This BadBIMer project uses a gamification approach to identify incorrect and erroneous use of BIM enabling better self education and thus contributing to enhance adoption and use.
Research area
Arghavan’s research focuses on creating an AI-driven serious game that supports construction professionals in ISO 19650 standards and openBIM practices, building on the Building Information Management Game developed by Buildwise and buildingSMART Benelux. The aim is to tune up the game with digital gamification mechanics and investigate using AI for nonplayer characters (NPCs) to add an interactive layer through suggestions about good and bad BIM practices. This approach enhances learning through interactive challenges. The award will fund surveys, focused workshops, and parts of the game’s graphics and interface. The CIB Keith Hampson ECR-Industry award support enables the team to deliver another engaging educational tool to help bridge digitalisation gaps in the construction industry while promoting best practices in BIM and openBIM implementation.
Biography
Arghavan is a postdoctoral researcher in the Information Systems in the Built Environment (ISBE) group at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). She has a multidisciplinary background in civil and environmental engineering and business administration. Her research also focuses on multidisciplinary topics concerning digital transformation, (Open)BIM, gamification, innovative education, as well as sustainability and circularity in the construction and built environment. Currently, she leads research on various aspects of serious games for digital and circular transitions in the built environment.
