BIM enabled digital twins

What motivated our project?

The motivation for this project is anchored in the pressing need to bridge the gap between the digital skills and competences required by the modern workforce and the current offerings of higher education institutions. As the digital transformation accelerates across all sectors, the demand for digitally skilled professionals is surging. Technologies like Building Information Modeling (BIM), 3D scanning, Product Life Cycle (PLC) assessment, Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) are essential for the construction industry, including heritage conservation, and industrial production lines, where efficiency, sustainability, and innovation are key. The project is designed to meet this demand by fostering digital skills and competences through an innovative educational model that combines open and distance learning with hands-on, face-to-face workshops. In this context, the importance of cooperation between educational institutions and businesses cannot be overstated.

Objectives

• Enhance Digital Skills and Competences in BIM for DT technologies to meet the evolving demands of the construction and manufacturing industries, an objective that we believe directly addresses the priority of enhancing digital skills, ensuring learners are prepared for the digitalized future of work.

• Foster Cooperation Between Educational Institutions and Businesses by establishing strong partnerships with industry stakeholders to ensure the curriculum is responsive to current and future industry needs, thus enhancing the graduates' employability. This objective aligns with the priority of enhancing cooperation between academia and industry, bridging the gap between education and the practical demands of the workforce and

• Expand Access to Open and Distance Learning by developing of a comprehensive MOOC, complemented by hands-on workshops, to make high-quality, specialized training accessible to a broad audience, including international learners and adult professionals. Through this, we support open and distance learning, making education more inclusive and adaptable to various learners' needs.

Results

• A fully developed Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) in BIM and DT technologies that incorporates the latest industry standards, practices, and innovations. This MOOC will be designed for scalability and accessibility, offering flexible learning paths tailored to the needs of diverse learners;

• A two-week, intensive face-to-face workshop plan (including materials) that provides practical, hands-on experience with BIM technologies and DT implementation. The future workshops will serve to complement the online learning experience, offering learners the opportunity to apply their knowledge in real-world scenarios and work on projects that can be added to their professional portfolios;

• Formalized partnerships with leading companies in the construction and manufacturing sectors, resulting in a pipeline for internships, co-op placements, and employment opportunities for graduates. These partnerships will also facilitate the continuous update of the curriculum based on emerging industry trends and technologies;

• The establishment of a certification process that provides learners with recognized credentials upon completion of the course and workshops. These credentials will be developed in collaboration with industry partners, ensuring they are valued by employers and can significantly enhance career prospect.

Partners 

The BIM2in project BIM enabled Digital Twins (project number 2024-1-RO01-KA220-HED-000249147) was awarded with a 400 000,00 EURO implementation grant within the Erasmus+ Key Action 2 for a period of 36 months. The consortium is composed of 5 universities

• BAUHAUS-UNIVERSITAET WEIMAR

• TEHNICAL UNIVERSITY CLUJ-NAPOCA

• UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI GABRIELE D'ANNUNZIO DI CHIETI-PESCARA

• POLITECNICA UNIVERSITY OF CARTAGENA

and is lead by

• UNIVERSITATEA POLITEHNICA TIMISOARA (though the Center for Innovation and Technological Transfer, Politehnica 2020)

Testimonials

"The BIM2in Workshop in Pescara was a really great experience. I especially enjoyed meeting people from different countries who share the same interests as me, and I was able to make some really good friendships along the way. It was a great opportunity to learn, connect, and share experiences with people from different backgrounds."  

Sandro Sanadze – Georgian American University (GAU), Civil Engineer, Project Manager 

"The Pescara BIM2in 2026 Workshop was an experience dedicated to construction students, organized by experts from various parts of Europe who introduced us to BIM and Digital Twins for historic buildings in the Anversa degli Abruzzi area, Italy. A fabulous and essential experience that provided us with crucial preparation for our future as construction specialists!"

Radu Arciudean –  Technical University of Cluj-Napoca (TUCN), Student at Faculty of Building Services Engineering 

"The BIM2IN workshop in Pescara was a great opportunity to understand how different digital technologies can be integrated into a real BIM and Digital Twin workflow. Working with point clouds, 3D scanning and collaborative BIM tools in an international team made the experience especially valuable."

Bryan Cedeño Triviño – Polytechnic University of Cartagena, Civil Engineer

"I really enjoyed the Workshop. What I appreciated most was the practical side and the opportunity to see and try different technologies for surveying and 3D modelling. I also really liked the atmosphere and working together with people from different backgrounds and experiences. Overall, it was a really interesting experience, and I’m very happy I had the opportunity to take part — especially with such great people."

Francesco Guarini – Polytechnic University of Bari ,Civil and Environmental Engineer, M.Sc. in Environmental and Land Engineering

"The BIM2in Pescara Workshop made it possible to look at BIM and Digital Twin workflows from more practical and connected perspective. Beyond viewing scanning, point clouds, modeling, and digital applications as separate topics, we were able to experience how they relate to one another throughout a project. I found this way of learning genuinely valuable, as it gave us clearer sense of how digital methods are applied in practice. I appreciated the opportunity to work with participants and professionals from different backgrounds, as the exchange of perspectives added further value to the overall learning experience. Altogether, it was very positive and worthwhile experience."

Emine Fatma Ceter Akkus – Bauhaus-Universität Weimar (BUW), Civil Engineer, Student M.Sc. in Digital Engineering

"The BIM2in Pescara Workshop was a really transformative experience for me. Learning how to use new tools was great, and I also enjoyed that we had the opportunity to discover useful ways for improving our skills. Of course, I must admit that the relationships and friends we were able to create throughout these two weeks were the best part."

Elina-Alessia Herban – Polytechnic University of Timisoara, Student Civil Engineering

"Two great weeks at the Pescara BIM2in Workshop. Going through the whole journey from point clouds to structured BIM models and finally to Digital Twins was a great hands-on learning experience. What made it even better was working alongside students, professors, and industry professionals from different backgrounds. Solving real workflow challenges together and learning from each other made the process both demanding and a lot of fun."

Jasurbek Odilov  –  Bauhaus-Universität Weimar (BUW), Student M.Sc. in Digital Engineering

"It was indeed a great learning experience at the BIM2in 2026 workshop. Getting to carry out hands on BIM workflows, coupled with Scan-to-BIM processes was the high point for me. We were shown several state-of-the-art possibilities that exist in Heritage BIM. All these put together definitely made it a great experience, one I cherish, especially considering how critical they are to current industry standards."

Obinna Rosato Ndupuechi – Bauhaus-Universität Weimar (BUW), Student M.Sc. in Natural Hazards and Risks in Structural Engineering

"The workshop was interesting, innovative, and stimulating, and it encouraged me to delve deeper into topics I was barely familiar with."

Alessia di Francesco –  G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti–Pescara, Student Construction Engineering