HAILU, ZERU TARIKU

1) Why are you researching or studying at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar?         

Bauhaus University Weimar represents a compelling academic environment for advanced study in Construction Project Management, particularly through its Chair of Construction Engineering and Management, renowned for its research focus on construction risk, uncertainty, and project complexity. The Chair's growing engagement with digitally driven construction process management further enriches its intellectual foundation providing a strong platform upon which new research can critically build, refine, and extend existing contributions to strengthen both theoretical and practical frameworks of construction risk management. Beyond its academic strengths, the university is situated in a city where intellectual heritage permeates every facet of its built environment and landscape a place inseparably connected to Goethe and Schiller, whose grand works stand as enduring testament to the human capacity to comprehend, anticipate, and navigate an uncertain future. This confluence of classical intellectual tradition and contemporary research excellence renders Bauhaus University Weimar an exceptionally fitting environment for scholarship that confronts uncertainty and seeks to transform the unknown into informed and purposeful action.      

2) What is special about your project? Why is it relevant?

Construction projects are inherently exposed to numerous risks and uncertainties, making effective risk management essential for project success. In developing countries, however, implementation remains constrained by significant contextual challenges. A major limitation is the absence of context-specific assessment tools capable of accurately measuring risk management understanding and practice, as most existing models fail to reflect the unique operational, economic, and regulatory conditions of these settings yielding limited insight into the true maturity of local risk management systems. Compounding this, prevailing approaches remain disproportionately focused on negative risks threats while affording insufficient attention to positive risks opportunities that could substantially enhance project performance, particularly under resource-constrained conditions. This imbalance critically undermines the capacity of construction organizations to leverage risk management as a strategic tool for improving project outcomes. Accordingly, the ultimate objective of this research is to explore and establish a context-based, comprehensive, and effective risk management approach tailored to the distinctive realities of construction projects in developing countries.