collAboration for imPlemEnting gReen Technologies in the bUildings and pRoperty sEctor

Lack of collaboration between educational institutions like universities and colleges and the industrial building sector has over the years contributed to making educational content stale, and young graduates unprepared for the world of work. Companies have continued to innovate and build new solutions to solve the pressing problems related to climate change but sometimes these are not shown to students, who then feel disconnected between their education and the world around them.

Now more than ever we need practical solutions to address the climate crisis and young people want to learn what is available as the state of the art within the building management, construction and smart building sectors. Sharing of ideas, and building innovations together could also breathe fresh life in areas which have been sorely abandoned to themselves like cleaning and housekeeping, disinfection and safety, which came under the spotlight recently due to COVID-19 pandemic but is still extremely traditional in its approaches.

Even from the socio-economic (ESG) side, the property/buildings and construction sector needs help, since we see a lot of challenges in human resources like inequalities, immigrants working without payment guarantees and employees without enough safety gear resulting in worker accidents. All of these issues could be solved better if there is stronger collaboration between the operators/companies in the sector, and the educational establishments that are training the next generation of workers.

Project period

1.11.2024 - 31.10.2027

Project state

On-going

Project area

International

Project funding

Erasmus+ 2021-2027

LAB role

Lead partner

Unit

Institute of Design and Fine Arts

Project focus area

Intangible value creation

Objectives

The call for Alliances for Innovation aims to strengthen Europe’s innovation capacity by boosting innovation through cooperation and flow of knowledge among higher education, vocational education and training, and the broader socio-economic environment, including research and industry.

The main vision of our APERTURE project aligns perfectly with this in the specific sector of buildings and property management which is somewhat ignored and needs new skills and innovations brought into it. We want to give opportunities to both the new generation of students, but also to existing researchers and academics. This will result not only in building a new joint curriculum that is in line with current technological trends and environmental requirements, but also in opening up a virtual European incubator of new innovations and ideas in the buildings & property sector, with hands-on entrepreneurial activities that will bridge this knowledge gap that currently exists.

Furthermore, the call asks for partnership between different actors - from the economic to the educational side - in order to address some of the current challenges that the world is facing, including climate change, demographics and digitalisation. The new technologies of robotics, AR/VR and Artificial Intelligence can all be brought to the sector in order to ensure that buildings are better managed, less energy is used and less water is wasted. It is also important to ensure that more affordable and easy to manage living space becomes accessible to the different age groups whose needs are very different from those around 50 years ago when the majority of European building stock was erected. Therefore, this partnership in this project between businesses (labour market actors), HEIs and VETs is crucial to achieve the mission and vision of a greener and more sustainable buildings sector.

Outcomes

The project aims at bridging the gap between educational institutions and the industrial building sector in order to support best practices, utilise emerging technology and fuel innovation in the building management, construction and smart building sectors. The aims of this project therefore align with the direction taken by the European Commission through its European Green Deal and drive towards further digitalisation as outlined through the revised European Industrial Strategy (Commission). In particular, the curriculum that will be drafted as part of the implementation of APERTURE will contribute towards the achievement of Europe’s IoT strategy (Commission). This project will be instrumental in ensuring that the stated priority of supporting the twin transition to a green and digital economy reaches the construction sector which is responsible for generating over 35% of the EU’s total waste and 5-12% of total national greenhouse gas emissions (Commission).

APERTURE will bring industry stakeholders in contact with digital tools and academics that are at the forefront of innovation, allowing for the development and implementation of new learning and teaching methods that will broaden the sector’s horizons and future-proof it for the digital age. This transdisciplinary approach aimed at fostering creativity and innovation captures the scope of the New European Bauhaus, with the project set to bring to life aspects of the European Green Deal, making a tangible difference in the way Europeans construct and interact with their living spaces (Commission). APERTURE therefore builds on and compliments other projects undertaken within the framework of the New European Bauhaus which have taken an approach that has focused on innovation in the field of construction material and methods but which has not yet drawn upon the creativity and dynamism that can be fostered through bringing together educational institutions and the building sector to explore the development, adoption and implementation of innovative technologies and an ESG centred approach (Commission).

The project would come at a time when the European Green Deal target of carbon neutrality by 2050 is dependent on renovating the building sector to ensure that living and working spaces are energy efficient and have minimal ongoing carbon footprint. The gains made through the implementation and long term impact of APERTURE will also contribute towards meeting targets set out under the Paris Agreement (United Nations) and Goal 9 of the United Nations Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (United Nations). To this end APERTURE can help to drive the innovation and dissemination of those digital and environmental solutions that are a vital component of the Commission’s “A Renovation Wave for Europe” strategy (Commission).

Sustainable Development Goals