ANNUAL CONGRESS 2025

DigiNEB: towards a digital literacy and digitalization roadmap for the New European Bauhaus community

Not scheduled

20m

Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul

Oral Track 01 | POSTGROWTH URBANISM

Speaker

Frank van der Hoeven (Delft University of Technology)

Description

The New European Bauhaus (NEB) is a European Union initiative aimed at transforming the design, planning, and construction of living environments to make the green transition enjoyable, attractive, and accessible for all.

The DigiNEB project (funded by the European Commission) supports this vision by bridging the digital and NEB communities, creating a pan-European digital ecosystem to promote EU digital solutions for greener, more inclusive living spaces. DigiNEB focuses on raising awareness, fostering collaboration, and ensuring the long-term sustainability of digital tools and methods within the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) sector.

DigiNEB outlines in this context a roadmap to ensure the long-term impact of its initiatives, emphasizing the transfer of methods and tools to stakeholders. The roadmap aligns with the NEB Academy, which aims to upskill and reskill the construction ecosystem for a regenerative, bio-based, and circular economy.

DigiNEB’s digital literacy and digitalization roadmaps aim to create a cohesive, sustainable, and inclusive ecosystem for the AEC sector. By addressing gaps in funding, accessibility, interoperability, and digital skills, these roadmaps will support the EU’s Green Deal and ensure the long-term success of the NEB initiative through the continuation in the NEB Academy. The integration of open education, micro-credentials, and open-source solutions will empower stakeholders to drive the green transition effectively.

Roadmap for Digital Literacy in NEB
The NEB Academy will serve as the central hub for collecting, supervising, and developing courses and training programs to support the Green Transition. To address fragmentation and ensure accessibility, the following steps are recommended:

1. NEB Course Base: Establish a certified repository of courses and training options to unify offerings across the EU.
2. EU Dataspace for Open Educational Resources (OER): Create a centralized infrastructure to share, mix, and reuse OER, integrating them into local Learning Management Systems.
3. Integration of Digital and AI Literacy: Mandate digital and AI literacy as requirements for professional titles like "architect," pushing higher education institutions to include these skills in their curricula.
4. EU Micro-Credentials: Implement a standardized system for micro-credentials (3–30 ECTS) to certify lifelong learning, ensuring recognition across EU member states.
5. Open Badges / EuroPass: Develop a standardized system for digital badges or certifications to validate micro-credentials and skills acquired through lifelong learning.
6. Financing Mechanism for Lifelong Learning: Establish funding mechanisms similar to those for traditional education to support lifelong learning initiatives.
7. Course Localization: Support the translation and adaptation of courses to local languages and regional specifications to ensure accessibility across the EU.

Roadmap for Digitalization in NEB
To support the NEB’s digital transformation, the following actions are proposed:

1. Cascading NEB Grants: Allocate funding to smaller NEB stakeholders through cascading grants, enabling them to participate in EU-funded projects.
2. Open-Source Requirement: Mandate that digital tools developed through EU funding be open-source, unless restricted by knowledge security concerns.
3. E-Learning and Citizen Platforms: Fast-track the development of open-source platforms for e-learning and citizen engagement (e.g., co-planning and local democracy tools).
4. Digital Workflows: Focus on developing and teaching workflows that combine multiple tools for specific objectives, alongside tool development.
5. Discovery Support: Enhance the dissemination of EU-funded projects by training participants in outreach and networking with local governments, NGOs, and market players.
6. Horizon Software Space: Establish a Git repository for hosting and developing digital solutions from EU-funded projects.
7. Interoperability: Require EU-funded projects to address the full complexity of NEB principles (beauty, sustainability, inclusion) and ensure interoperability between tools.