CIB announces an international collaboration to develop an interdisciplinary summer school on
“AI for Construction and Project Management” as a recipient of Vistas funding.
Politecnico di Milano, in partnership with the University of Florida and Istituto Superior Tecnico Lisboa, proposes to establish an interdisciplinary international summer school, “AI for Construction and Project Management,” endorsed by the CIB Vistas Fund Program 2024. Recognizing a strong interest in acquiring specialized knowledge on AI at a problem-oriented level in the sector, this initiative seeks to fill the educational gaps identified in academic and professional communities.
This summer school will focus on practical AI applications for automating and optimizing project management processes during the design and construction phases, covering areas like risk management, schedule planning, and safety management. It aims to equip early-career researchers, students, and practitioners with comprehensive skills essential for navigating the sector’s digital transformation, addressing theoretical and practical aspects of AI, alongside its application’s ethical and legal considerations, to contribute to sustainability and innovation in the industry in line with UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
The research team is as follows:
Leading the application is Ania Khodabakhshian who said
“As visionary researchers, it is our calling to impart the knowledge we have acquired through diligent research back to our community, aiming to cultivate a more efficient and sustainable industry. I am both honored and delighted that, thanks to the CIB Vistas fund, our vision and aspirations are set to become reality”.
Biography
Ania Khodabakhshian recently graduated with her Ph.D. in Architecture, Built Environment, and Construction Engineering at Politecnico di Milano University with honors and will soon join the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Garrick Institute of Risk Sciences as a Postdoctoral researcher. Her Ph.D. thesis, in partnership with JACOBS SPA Italy, investigated the application of Machine Learning for Risk Management in construction projects. Her other research interests include data-driven policymaking for building energy retrofit, ethical and moral considerations of AI application, and Building Information Modeling-based Life Cycle Assessment of building assets, the results of which have been published in prestigious journals and conference proceedings.
She actively contributes to enhancing academia-industry partnerships and professional networks through involvement in international associations such as CIB, as the board member of future leaders’ committee and Polimi student chapter, her grant won research projects such as the Sebestyen Future Leaders’ award 2023, and collaborative projects with MIT Schwarzman College of Computing, UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, and the University of Salford.
