Digital Twins in AEC Education: A Hands-on Approach through the DigiLab/BE Project

Adoption of digital twins (DT) has been limited in the AEC industry, and also in the Built Environment (BE) sector. Main challenges in adoption of needed new technologies related to DT is lack of knowledge and ex-perience. For addressing this, the paper proposes a platform for DT for BE-education use. By developing learning materials on four key aspects of DTs, centered around a platform with open data and use of low-cost equipment and software, the project will provide a holistic understanding of the DT concepts. We posit that the utilization of open data and a digital platform contributes significantly to enhancing education at both upper secondary and higher education, thereby addressing the slow adoption of DTs within the construction sector. The project is still ongoing, and the learning materials are being tested trough student evaluation and feedback. We hope to inspire others to contribute to creation of more comprehensive open learning material and publicly available example data.