Assistant Professor BIM and Sustainable Building Performance permanent position at IMT Nord Europe

IMT Nord Europe is a public institution of Institut Mines-Télécom (IMT), under the supervision of the French Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty. IMT Nord Europe has 3 main missions: training responsible engineers able to solve the major challenges of the 21st century; carrying out research leading to high-value innovations; and supporting territorial development, in particular by fostering innovation and entrepreneurship. Its objective is to train the engineers of tomorrow, proficient in both digital technologies and industrial know-how. Ideally located at the crossroads of Europe, 1 hour from Paris, 30 minutes from Brussels and 1.5 hours from London, IMT Nord Europe intends to become a major player in the industrial, digital and environmental transformations of the 21st century by combining engineering sciences and digital technologies in both its teaching and its research.

Located on 2 main teaching and research campuses, in Lille and Douai, IMT Nord Europe relies on more than 20,000 m² of laboratories to develop high-level teaching and research excellence in the following areas:

•      Energy Environment

•      Digital Systems

•      Materials and Processes

The School also has sites in Dunkerque, Valenciennes and Alençon.

For more details, please visit the School's website: www.imt-nord-europe.fr

The position is open within the CERI Materials & Processes (CERI MP), a research centre positioned on the deployment of the new materials and processes required by the ecological and industrial transitions. CERI MP notably develops expertise in civil engineering, eco-materials, circular economy, bio-based and geo-based materials, recycling, waste valorization, durability of materials, multi-physics testing, modeling and digital processes.

In a context of transformation of the construction sector, BIM (Building Information Modeling) is a major lever for designing, building, operating, renovating and deconstructing buildings in a more sustainable way. This recruitment aims to strengthen IMT Nord Europe's training offer in the field of BIM and to develop an original research activity at the interface between the digital building model, materials knowledge, eco-design, circular economy and the overall performance of buildings throughout their life cycle.

In this context, IMT Nord Europe is recruiting a Lecturer / Assistant Professor whose missions are described below.

MISSIONS:

Under the authority of the Director of CERI Materials & Processes, the position holder will develop teaching and research activities in the field of BIM applied to the sustainable performance of buildings. They will contribute to training engineers capable of using the digital building model and building data to design, optimize, monitor and improve the performance of structures, from the design phase through operation, renovation, deconstruction and the valorization of end-of-life materials.

The position is part of an education-research-innovation integration approach. It should create a strong link between the skills of CERI MP in sustainable construction materials, processes, recycling and material valorization, and the emerging needs of the building sector in terms of BIM, openBIM, life-cycle assessment, performance management and decision support.

•      Contribute to the development and coordination of teaching in BIM, sustainable materials and building performance in the engineering and Master's programs;

•      Develop a research activity on improving the performance of buildings over their life cycle, integrating the materials, environmental, economic and operational dimensions.

Teaching activities:

The successful candidate will take part in lectures, tutorials, laboratory sessions, projects and supervision within the Civil and Environmental Engineering track, the DNM ADMODC – Advanced Design and Management of Durable Constructions, as well as in courses related to BIM, sustainable materials and building performance. They may also contribute to other programs of the School — initial training, apprenticeship or continuing education — according to educational needs.

•      Design, deliver and develop engineering- and Master's-level courses on the fundamentals of BIM, the digital building model, openBIM, IFC, BIM coordination and information management;

•      Develop applied courses linking BIM, construction materials, eco-design, life-cycle assessment, carbon indicators, energy performance, environmental performance and durability of structures;

•      Set up tutorials and lab sessions involving: BIM modeling, data extraction and structuring, BIM-simulation and BIM-LCA coupling, materials information management, renovation and end-of-life scenarios;

•      Supervise integrative projects enabling students to work in teams on a real building or an industrial case: collaborative design, choice of materials, impact assessment, performance monitoring and material valorization strategy;

•      Take part in the supervision of internships, final-year projects, apprentices, research projects and student work in connection with companies and the experimental platforms of CERI MP;

•      Contribute to the continuous improvement of curricula, to the competency-based approach and to consistency with the expectations of the engineering program.

Research and technology transfer activities:

Within CERI MP, the successful candidate will develop a research activity focused on improving the sustainable performance of buildings throughout their life cycle, using BIM as a medium for integrating, structuring and exploiting data related to materials, processes, uses and performance.

•      Develop methods for enriching BIM models with reliable materials data: mechanical, thermal, hydric and environmental properties, durability, ageing, repairability, reuse potential and recyclability;

•      Integrate eco-design into BIM processes through support for material selection, analysis of low-carbon construction solutions, multi-criteria assessment and coupling with life-cycle assessment and life-cycle costing;

•      Build digital approaches to optimize recycling, reuse and material valorization at the end of buildings' life, notably through BIM inventories, material passports, resource traceability and selective deconstruction scenarios;

•      Take into account the actual performance of buildings during their operation by linking BIM data to monitoring, sensor, BMS/BAS, maintenance, usage and consumption data;

•      Address issues of interoperability, data quality and data governance: IFC formats, openBIM, materials databases, ontologies, data models, indicator dashboards and decision support;

•      Leverage the experimental facilities of CERI MP to produce materials data useful for digital models, BIM models and tools supporting the choice of sustainable construction solutions;

•      Publish results in recognized journals and conferences, and contribute to the supervision of PhD candidates, postdoctoral researchers, engineers, Master's interns and research-oriented final-year projects.

Partnership research, innovation and valorization:

An important part of the position will involve developing collaborations with the industrial and territorial stakeholders of sustainable construction. The successful candidate will contribute to initiating applied research projects, demonstrators and use cases in line with the needs of the sector.

•      Develop partnerships with construction companies, engineering firms, project owners, project managers, building operators, materials manufacturers, recycling platforms, deconstruction stakeholders and BIM solution vendors or integrators;

•      Set up and lead collaborative projects: CIFRE PhD theses, regional projects, ADEME, ANR, Horizon Europe, Interreg, industrial chairs, research services and pedagogical or technological demonstrators;

•      Contribute to responses to calls for projects, to the drafting of scientific and technical deliverables, to the valorization of results and to transfer towards companies and local authorities;

•      Participate in academic and professional networks in the fields of BIM, sustainable construction, circular economy, low-carbon materials and building performance.

Contribution to the life of the School:

•      Take part in juries, defenses, educational councils, promotional actions, forums, open days and scientific outreach events;

•      Contribute to the collective dynamics of CERI MP, to cross-cutting actions with the other research centres and to the quality processes of the School;

•      Support students in their professional development, their awareness of environmental issues and their ability to work in collaborative and digital environments.

PROFILE: (Prerequisites / Degree)

The position is intended for a PhD holder in civil engineering, sustainable building, BIM/digital construction, materials science and engineering, energy and environmental performance of buildings, data science applied to construction, or a related field. An accreditation to supervise research (HDR), postdoctoral experience, teaching experience in an engineering school or industrial experience in the construction sector will be considered assets.

The profile sought should combine a solid scientific background, the ability to teach engineering students and the will to build a partnership-based research program at the interface between BIM, sustainable materials, circular economy and building performance.

Interpersonal skills:

•      A taste for teaching and supporting students;

•      Ability to work in a multidisciplinary team;

•      Autonomy, scientific rigor and organizational skills;

•      Ability to listen to and engage in dialogue with industrial partners;

•      Initiative, creativity and project orientation;

•      Strong awareness of ecological transition issues.

Know-how:

•      Design and deliver lectures, tutorials, lab sessions and BIM projects;

•      Supervise internships, final-year projects, apprentices, PhD candidates and research projects;

•      Set up and lead collaborative projects with companies;

•      Structure BIM data and link it to performance indicators;

•      Valorize results through publications, reports, demonstrators and communications;

•      Work in both French and English.

Knowledge:

•      BIM, openBIM, IFC, digital building models and BIM coordination;

•      Sustainable, low-carbon, bio-/geo-based and recycled construction materials;

•      Eco-design, life-cycle assessment, carbon indicators and life-cycle costs;

•      Reuse, recycling, material valorization and selective deconstruction;

•      Energy, environmental and hygrothermal performance of buildings.

Proficiency with tools or environments such as Revit, Archicad, Tekla, Navisworks, Solibri, Dynamo, Grasshopper, Rhino, eveBIM, LCA software, energy simulation software, IFC databases, Python or databases will be appreciated. However, the recruitment will favor the ability to build a scientific and pedagogical vision of BIM rather than expertise limited to a single software tool.

The administrative base is in Douai. Travel to the other campuses of the School and to partner sites is to be expected.