Structure of the TUM Georg Nemetschek Institute

The TUM Georg Nemetschek Institute is based on two columns:

·       The Chair of Computing in Civil and Building Engineering

·       The multidisciplinary network of research projects on AI in Construction

The International Board of Trustees advises the Director of the TUM Georg Nemetschek Institute on general scientific, organizational and technical issues. The Board also defines the general strategy and standards of the Institute.

The Chair of Computing in Civil and Building Engineering (CCBE) constitutes the core of the Institute. The CCBE chair is part of the TUM School of Engineering and Design and is strongly connected to the Leonhard Obermeyer Center of Digital Methods for the Built Environment. It is responsible for the academic organization of research and teaching, acts as spearhead for scientific developments on machine learning and data science in the Built Environment and represents the Institute to its partners in collaborating disciplines in and beyond TUM.

The third column of the Institute is the network of multidisciplinary research projects, flexible in the composition of its members and the precise research topics, yet always collaborative in the structure of each project. The Institute supports the network through funding of PhD researchers and their infrastructure. All project proposals are subject to an evaluation procedure performed by the Scientific Advisory Board of the Institute and external referees.

Projects in the TUM Georg Nemetschek Institute can have different size, yet always bring together domain specific researchers from architecture, engineering, construction and asset operation with computer science researchers with focus on core scientific questions on Data Science and Machine Learning. Projects can have different size ranging from smaller collaboration projects (2PIs, 2 directly funded PhD researchers, further associated PhD researchers) to larger formats (up to 6 Principle Investigators, 6 directly funded PhD researchers, further associated PhD researchers). Every year a cohort of projects with up to 6 funded PhD researchers can be initiated and funded for up to 4 years. Annual calls for proposal can alternate between a call for larger network projects (up to 6 PIs) and smaller projects (at least 2 PIs). 

The research profile of the TUM Georg Nemetschek Institute is not only relevant for basic and applied research but also for cooperation with and transfer to industrial or public partners. All projects in the TUM Georg Nemetschek Institute are therefore strongly encouraged to collaborate with relevant industries and/or private and public institutions. These collaborations can range from third-party supported extensions of the projects to own entrepreneurial initiatives of the members of the projects.

Collaborating with top-level scientists from all over the world and being able to draw on their outstanding topical or methodological expertise is a unique asset of the international visiting program of the TUM Georg Nemetschek Institute AI for the Built World. A core enabling platform for such collaborations will be formed by adopting the successful Hans Fischer (Senior) Fellowship program of the TUM Institute for Advanced Study (TUM-IAS), established as a flagship component of TUM’s institutional strategy “TUM. The Entrepreneurial University” within the Excellence Initiative. Aiming to explore new scientific areas and to establish or extend long-term collaborations, Hans Fischer (for early-career researchers) and Hans Fischer Senior Fellowships offer outstanding guest scientists optimal conditions for working together with their Munich partners. In addition to personal support for the fellow, the fellowship includes the funding of a doctoral researcher position for three years, jointly advised by the fellow and their host. While in general fellowships at TUM-IAS are thematically open, the Nemetschek Institute will collaborate synergistically with TUM-IAS and call for applications for topical Hans Fischer (Senior) Fellowships. While the TUM Georg Nemetschek Institute is responsible for the definition of specific research fields for these fellowships and provides their funding, the IAS administers, together with the Scientific Advisory Board, the application and evaluation procedure and connects fellows with its large and multidisciplinary scholarly community, offering comprehensive professional support services during the fellowship.