RECONSTRUCT

Work Package 1 provides the organisational backbone of RECONSTRUCT, ensuring effective cooperation among the six partner universities and steady progress in line with the approved work plan. A structured and transparent management framework guides the project across all key dimensions: coordination, time management, financial oversight, reporting, and quality assurance. The workpackage ensures:

• Overall coordination of the international consortium

• Monitoring of milestones and key performance indicators (KPIs)

• Transparent financial management under the lump-sum model

• Clear reporting procedures and documentation

• Internal quality assurance and risk management

Progress:

• Transnational kick-off meeting to established governance structures and responsibilities

• Regular virtual coordination meetings

• 2 x in-person workshops

• Shared digital platforms support documentation and collaboration

Work Package 2 establishes the academic foundation including the development of a 6 ECTS Pilot Course in Forensic Structural Engineering at Master’s level. The course is designed around evidence-based, problem-based, and case-based learning principles. It introduces students to the professional role of the forensic engineer and connects structural engineering expertise with legal, ethical, and societal responsibility in damage investigations. To define the curriculum, a structured stakeholder survey was conducted. The Competency & Syllabus Survey was jointly developed, translated into all partner languages, and deployed internationally to structural engineers and court expert witnesses. The results provided a strong empirical foundation for the course design and were complemented by a SWOT analysis.

Progress:

• Definition of learning objectives and competency framework

• Derivation of the module description/syllabus

• Integration of stakeholder feedback into course structure and assessment principles

• Establishment of the technical learning environment supporting future delivery

All activities were implemented according to plan, without deviations. WP2 now provides a validated and professionally aligned curriculum framework, ready for implementation in the pilot phase.

Work Package 3 forms the technical and pedagogical core by transforming real forensic structural damage cases into interactive, escape-room-based learning environments that allow students to investigate failure mechanisms step by step. Each partner contributes one case involving extreme actions such as earthquakes, storms, fire, or structural collapse:

• RUB: Storm damage of a high-bay warehouse roof

• UniOS: Stability assessment of historic unreinforced masonry

• BUW: Seismic behaviour of unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings

• IUSS: Collapse of a reinforced concrete arch bridge

• IZIIS: Seismic damage of a reinforced concrete student dormitory

• UA: Fire damage in an industrial steel hall

These six cases form the foundation of a digital learning environment. A shared Moodle platform has been established to host and structure the materials, ensuring coordinated development across the consortium. Using gamification tools (ThingLink and Moodle), the cases are implemented as interactive escape rooms. Students analyse evidence, identify failure mechanisms, and reconstruct damage processes within a structured investigative framework. During Workshop II, the first implementations were internally presented, tested, and reviewed. Expert feedback, including input from a professional game developer and forensic practitioners, supported refinement of narrative structure, question design, and technical functionality. Case study development is well advanced, and the gamified learning environment is continuously being refined toward full implementation.

Work Package 4 delivers the 6 ECTS international Pilot Course in Forensic Structural Engineering. The course combines structured lectures, guided self-study and collaborative case investigations to train students in evidence-based forensic reasoning. The course will:

• Integrate the escape-room-based case studies developed in WP3
• Encourage interdisciplinary and international teamwork
• Apply analytical, technical and legal reasoning in real forensic scenarios
• Strengthen critical thinking and decision-making under uncertainty

Although formal course delivery begins in the next project phase, preparatory coordination has already been addressed during project meetings. Responsibilities, course structure, and integration of WP2 and WP3 results have been aligned to ensure smooth implementation. WP4 represents the practical validation phase of RECONSTRUCT, bringing together curriculum design, gamified case studies, and international collaboration into a fully operational teaching format.

Work Package 5 consolidates the educational innovation developed in RECONSTRUCT into a transferable framework. Its main outcome will be a Best Practice Report and Didactical Handbook supporting long-term sustainability and replication. The handbook will:

• Document the pedagogical foundations of the course (evidence-based, problem-based and case-based learning)
• Provide structured guidance for implementing escape-room-based learning environments
• Include evaluation tools and feedback instruments for measuring learning success
• Offer recommendations for replication and adaptation at other higher education institutions

WP5 will also analyse data and feedback collected during the pilot course phase to refine teaching strategies and optimise the learning design. Although this work package formally begins later in the project timeline, its foundations are already embedded in WP2 and WP3 through continuous reflection on learning objectives, assessment principles, and gamification design. This ensures that the final handbook will be grounded in practical implementation experience.

Work Package 6 strengthens the European dimension of RECONSTRUCT by ensuring that the project results are accessible across linguistic contexts. All educational escape rooms and supporting materials will be translated into the partner languages:

• Portuguese
• Croatian
• Macedonian
• Italian
• German

This multilingual approach enhances accessibility, inclusivity, and European dissemination, enabling broader adoption of the forensic engineering curriculum. Although the formal translation phase of the escape rooms will begin once their development is finalized, important groundwork has already been completed. The Competency & Syllabus Survey was translated into all partner languages and deployed internationally, and the course module description has been made available within the respective national contexts. This early multilingual alignment ensured inclusive stakeholder participation and broad professional input during curriculum development. WP6 will ensure that the final learning tools are fully accessible, culturally adaptable, and suitable for long-term European implementation.

• Course Development & Design: Abrahamczyk, L., Uzair, A., Penava, D., Kahler, U., Monteiro, R., Höffer, R., & Apostolska, R. (2026). Course development & design: RECONSTRUCT pilot course in forensic structural engineering. RECONSTRUCT Project (Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnerships in Higher Education).
• SWOT Analysis & Survey Results:  Abrahamczyk, L., Hasan, P. L., Penava, D., Kahler, U., Monteiro, R., Höffer, R., & Apostolska, R. (2026). Analysis of the requirements for forensic structural engineering for the design of the RECONSTRUCT pilot course. RECONSTRUCT Project (Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnerships in Higher Education).
• Periodic Report: RECONSTRUCT Project Consortium. (2026). RECONSTRUCT Project – Periodic progress report (Reporting period 2024–2025). Erasmus+ KA220-HED Cooperation Partnerships in Higher Education.

• Abrahamczyk, L., Uzair, A., Apostolska, R., Höffer, R., Salzinger, J., Penava, D., Minazek, K., Lopes, N., Kähler, U., Monteiro, R., Scattareggia, N., & Delova, E. (2025). Forensic structural engineering database for HEI and innovative pilot course – RECONSTRUCT project. In Proceedings of the 21st International Symposium of the Macedonian Association of Structural Engineers (MASE 21), Skopje, North Macedonia.
• Penava, D., & Lozančić, S. (2025). Razvoj obrazovnih sadržaja za sudska vještačenja u građevinarstvu: Erasmus+ projekt RECONSTRUCT. Građevinar, 77(8), 815–820.
• Abrahamczyk, L., Höffer, R., Kalender, C., Apostolska, R., Lopes, N., Kähler, U., Monteiro, R., Calvi, G. M., Scattareggia, N., Penava, D., & Lozančić, S. (2024). Forensic structural engineering database for HEI and pilot course with innovative and interactive learning methods (RECONSTRUCT). Paper presented at the 8th Congress of Croatian Court Expert Witnesses and Valuers, Zagreb, Croatia, October 18–19. 
• Monteiro, R., Scattareggia, N. (2024). IUSS protagonista nel progetto ERASMUS+ ''RECONSTRUCT'': innovazione nell'ingegneria strutturale forense. Newsletter IUSS Pavia.