Buildings Webinar | Smart and Sustainable Built Environment
the chair
7th Buildings Webinar
Smart and Sustainable Built Environments
Welcome to our webinar on "Smart and Sustainable Built Environment." We are excited to have you join us as we explore innovative solutions for a sustainable future in the built environment.
I would like to introduce our esteemed speakers:
We have Dr. Rashid Maqbool from the University of Manchester. Dr. Maqbool specializes in sustainable construction and aims to integrate innovative technologies into fit-out construction projects. His insights will be invaluable as we discuss circular synergies in our field.
Next, we have Ruoyu (Roy) Jin, a Reader in Construction Management at Brunel University. Ruoyu has an impressive track record in circular economy practices and the development of digital technologies for managing construction waste. His research is shaping the future of sustainability in our industry.
Lastly, I am pleased to introduce myself, Prof. Rita Yi Man Li, from Hong Kong Shue Yan University. As the founder of the Sustainable Real Estate Research Center, my research focuses on sustainable development goals and applied AI in real estate.
Date: 23 June 2025
Time: 10:30 am CEST | 4:30 pm CST Asia
Webinar ID: 820 6246 4960
Webinar Secretariat: journal.webinar@mdpi.com
Meet the Event Chair
Meet Our Speakers
Dr. Rashid Maqbool
Civil Engineering and Management, The University of Manchester;
The research focus of Dr Rashid Maqbool surrounds around the sustainable construction and development projects. By doing so, he tries to cover the interdisciplinary, cross-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary angles of engineering and management sciences subjects with the support of innovative technologies (i.e., BIM, Digital Twinning, AI, etc.) and Key development theories (i.e., Innovative Diffusion, UTAUT etc.) to propose sustainable development solutions. His recent key research bids include; 1). “Green Growth Skills” by “North of Tyne Combined Authority”: worth £674,294.95, and 2). The British Council-ISPF UK-Japan Research Collaboration Grant: worth £79,997.99. Also, the findings of his ongoing and completed research projects have been published/accepted in key journals, such as Sustainable Development, Journal of Cleaner Production, Project Management Journal, etc. Besides, he has successfully delivered various research tasks at multiple conferences, symposiums and universities. He has more than 12 years of teaching and research experience in the top ranked universities of the world. It is worth mentioning that he has been among the Top 2% of Scientists in the field of Enabling and Strategic Technologies, according to the ranking conducted by Stanford University, USA.
Dr. Ruoyu Jin
Reader in Construction Management and Technology, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Brunel University London, the U.K.;
Ruoyu Jin has established track records on recycled aggregate concrete, circular economy practices in construction & deconstruction (C&D) waste management, and developing Industry 4.0/5.0-featured digital technologies for C&D waste reuse. In these research areas, Jin has authored over 90 peer-reviewed journal articles with over 6,600 citations received, two book chapters, editing one book, and one patented innovation in reusing construction wastes as sustainable construction materials entitled “Recycled Waste Materials Applied in the Prefabricated Enclosure System for Construction Sites”. Currently Jin is implementing the research of integrating Circular Economy, C&D waste valorisation, and digital transformation As PI or Co-PI, Jin has secured over £500,000 in the areas of circularity & decarbonisation from various external schemes including Innovate UK, British Council, and Royal Society (concluded), etc.
Prof. Dr. Rita Yi Man Li
Sustainable Real Estate Research Center, Department of Economics and Finance, Hong Kong Shue Yan University;
Graduated from HKU, Rita Yi Man Li now serves as a Full Professor in the Dept of Economics and Finance at Hong Kong Shue Yan University. She is the founder and director of the Sustainable Real Estate Research Center. Her major fields of research interests lie in SDGs, construction safety and health, housing economics, real estate economics, and applied AI. She is listed as a Stanford University World’s Top 2% Scientist across 22 scientific fields and 176 sub-fields of all scientists (2020-2022 single year, 2022 career-long) with the highest rank in the fields of artificial intelligence, Information & Communication Technologies, Environmental Sciences (2021)/energy (2022). Rita acts as a journal editorial board member and SI editor for SSCI/SCIE journals, and is an author of 9 books and over 200 articles over the past eight years. She has a quite extensive academic network with research collaborators from Australia, the UK, Italy, the US, Cyprus, France, Canada, Thailand, Malaysia, Turkey, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, and mainland China, among others. She is also an invited keynote speaker for over 30 conferences. Over the years, she has won many local and international awards. She also acts as a PI and co-I for many academic research grants, including highly competitive grants from the Research Grant Council and Public Policy Research Grant in Hong Kong, ARC Linkage Grant in Australia, Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and other grants obtained from quasi-public institutions and government departments. Many of these are related to artificial intelligence. She holds a few visiting positions at overseas universities, and also gave guest lectures for Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Malaysia) and Hochschule 21 (Germany). Besides, she previously served as a PhD thesis external examiner for Queensland University of Technology, University of Macau, University Putra Malaysia, MPhil thesis examiner of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, and an external examiner for Open University of Hong Kong and Lingnan University.
Sponsors and Partners
Organizer
In this section, you will find the recordings of this webinar to watch, re-watch and share with your colleagues!
The webinar featuring Prof. Dr. Rita Yi Man Li, Dr. Rashid Maqbool, and Dr. Ruoyu Jin was a resounding success! Participants explored groundbreaking research on wetland parks, smart construction practices, and innovative waste management strategies. The discussions highlighted the exciting intersection of sustainability and technology in the built environment. Attendees engaged with the speakers, offered insights that will help shape the future of our cities. Thanks everyone who joined us!