A Four-day Workshop on Digital Twins Transforming the Infrastructure Sector
Bentley Systems has collaborated with the Symbiosis Institute of Technology (SIT) to organize a four-day faculty development program from the 20 to 23 March in Pune, focusing on how digital twins are transforming the infrastructure sector and how technology is enabling civil engineering design.
This workshop aimed to expose the country’s youth to the industry and help them become better civil engineering professionals, considering the government’s commitment and investments to rapid digitization and innovation in technology to the industry. The program sought to help foster a deeper understanding of why the government seeks to develop the country’s infrastructure, as well as the opportunities for future professionals to acquire specialized skills and engage with current industry challenges—bridging the skills gap between industry and academia.
The world and its infrastructure are facing many growing challenges, and digital twin technology will be a powerful tool for future engineers. Digital twins bring together and visualize data in ways that optimize decision-making and enable effective planning and action. The data in digital twins can include 3D design models, reality meshes (3D models of real-world locations), and Internet of Things (IoT) data.
The workshop brought together qualified, experienced professionals from the infrastructure sector, global digital twin experts from Bentley, eminent professors and researchers, civil engineering experts, the faculty of Symbiosis Institute of Technology, and many other educational institutes across the country. The objective was to provide valuable insights on emerging industry trends, the digital workflow for efficient engineering practices, and exposure to industry-level projects. It also promoted the adoption of engineering software while also expressing the importance of aligning educational curriculum with the industry’s ongoing standards and best practices with real-world scenarios.
Attendees of the program also received hands-on training of software and digital solutions used in the industry while showcasing applications that help design and build smart, resilient water and wastewater systems while also including digital solutions for mobility across roads, rails, and bridges. Speaker sessions helped attendees garner insights into the ongoing technological developments, aid in fostering a competitive teaching and learning environment in educational institutions, and create a talent pool of graduate students who will be ready to take on challenges.
Speaking about the collaboration, Kaushik Chakraborty, vice president of APAC, Bentley Systems, said, “Today, we are witnessing an ever-changing and fast-paced industry. There is a huge focus and investment planned for the infrastructure development of the country by the government of India. With the rapid progress in digitization to increase efficiency and adoption of the latest innovation in technology, India’s academic institutions and their curriculum need to be up to date with the industry standards to appropriately train our future generations and make them well-equipped individuals to mitigate the challenges. I hope that this workshop has rightly influenced the industry and academia, and that they take further steps to implement faster progress for our nation.”
Speaking about how we should focus on digitizing curriculum today, Sudipto Goswami, director of Bentley Education, said, “Digitizing means bringing innovation in curriculum, and this is very important to pave the way through the skill gap that exists in the industry today. Today, we are seeing an acute shortage of manpower, as there is a lack of skillset that industry graduates hold in them. An alignment of educational institutes and the industry—with constant upgradation of pedagogy—will ensure the right placement of students and make them qualified professionals. Everything around us is soon going to be digital, and this is an upcoming revolution. Infrastructure development is the foundation for the development of any country’s economy and prosperity, which helps in improving the quality of life of the citizens. Therefore, it is our responsibility to ensure the right curriculum for students and the civil engineering graduates of today for a better tomorrow.”
Ketan Kotecha, director of SIT, said, “It was indeed a pleasure to have Bentley conduct a workshop at the Symbiosis Institute of Technology. The four-day workshop profoundly enlightened students, faculty, and various professionals about the current industry standards and expectations, and further educated our knowledge to appropriately equip the youth with infrastructure and collaborative digital twin tools. Training the trainers is of high importance today, and students need to be given hands-on training in this field to face the competitive world, improve their skillset, and think beyond the classroom. Universities should not restrict their curriculum to the classroom but take up innovative pedagogies. We are very happy to be collaborating with Bentley Education since 2017, and we look forward to establishing a Digital iTwin Technology Lab at SIT by Bentley Education. In today’s era, industry and academia must go hand-in-hand and take a collaborative multidiscipline approach. We look forward to more such partnerships with Bentley and hope to provide the industry with the finest level of education.”
