Heritage Webinar | The Next Generation of Heritage Digital Twins
Heritage Webinar | The Next Generation of Heritage Digital Twins
Part of the Heritage Webinar Series series
7 July 2026
Heritage digital twins, Artificial intelligence for cultural heritage, HBIM and semantic modelling, Smart heritage monitoring, Climate resilience and risk assessment, Extended reality (XR) and spatial computing
Welcome from the Chair
2nd Heritage Webinar
The Next Generation of Heritage Digital Twins
Dear Colleagues,
Cultural heritage is facing unprecedented challenges, ranging from climate change and environmental pressures to increasing demands for sustainable management, conservation, accessibility, and public engagement.
At the same time, rapid advances in digital technologies are transforming the way in which we document, monitor, understand, and preserve heritage assets. Heritage Digital Twins are emerging as a powerful paradigm that brings together data, models, sensors, artificial intelligence, and immersive technologies to create dynamic and evolving representations of cultural heritage. Moving beyond static digital replicas, next-generation Digital Twins have the potential to support real-time monitoring, predictive conservation, risk assessment, climate adaptation, decision-making, and enhanced stakeholder engagement.
This webinar brings together researchers, practitioners, technology developers, and heritage professionals to explore recent advances, emerging challenges, and future directions in this rapidly evolving field. It also serves as an opportunity to introduce the Special Issue The Next Generation of Heritage Digital Twins and to encourage the submission of interdisciplinary contributions that advance both scientific knowledge and practical applications.
The first presentation discusses the non-invasive digital methods utilized for the modelling and preservation of cultural heritage.
Invited Speaker: Dr. Asimina Dimara Title Presentation: Non-Invasive Digital Methods for the Modelling and Preservation of Cultural Heritage
The second presentation explores the evolution of Heritage Building Information Modelling (HBIM) towards Digital Twins.
Invited Speaker: Prof. Christos Anagnostopoulos Title Presentation: The evolution of HBIM towards Digital Twins
The third presentation addresses parametric digital twins for buildings and how they can support decisions under uncertainty.
Invited Speaker: Sara Aboueibeid Title Presentation: Parametric Digital Twins for Buildings: Supporting Decisions under Uncertainty
We hope these three contributions will stimulate a discussion with attendees, fostering inputs, new insights and collaborations.
Date: 7 July 2026
Time: 11:00 am CEST
Webinar ID: 893 5572 9782
Webinar Secretariat: journal.webinar@mdpi.com
Event Chair
Department of Cultural Technology and Communication, University of the Aegean, Mytilene, Greece
Dr. Asimina Dimara is a Postdoctoral Research Associate specializing in Intelligent Computer Systems. She holds a Diploma in Computer Science from the Hellenic Open University (2017), an MSc by Research in Intelligent Computer Systems from the University of the Aegean (2022), and a PhD from the same institution (2025), with a dissertation focused on Performance Optimization Techniques and Architectures in Intelligent Systems. Her research expertise spans intelligent energy systems, IoT-enabled infrastructures, AIoT, smart building management, data analytics, optimization, and machine learning. She has been actively involved in numerous national and European research initiatives (HORIZON, H2020, ELIDEK, ESPA), frequently in roles of technical leadership and coordination. She has co-authored more than 80 peer-reviewed publications and contributes regularly as a reviewer and program committee member in international journals and conferences. Her broader research interests include edge AI, predictive analytics, smart environments, and cultural heritage preservation in both terrestrial and underwater.
Invited Speakers
Department of Cultural Technology and Communication, University of the Aegean, Mytilene, Greece
Dr. Asimina Dimara is a postdoctoral research associate specializing in Intelligent Computer Systems. She holds a Diploma in Computer Science from the Hellenic Open University (2017), an MSc for Research in Intelligent Computer Systems from the University of the Aegean (2022), and a PhD from the same institution (2025), with a dissertation focused on Performance Optimization Techniques and Architectures in Intelligent Systems. Her research expertise spans intelligent energy systems, IoT-enabled infrastructures, AIoT, smart building management, data analytics, optimization, and machine learning. She has been actively involved in numerous national and European research initiatives (HORIZON, H2020, ELIDEK, ESPA), frequently in roles of technical leadership and coordination. She has co-authored more than 80 peer-reviewed publications and contributes regularly as a reviewer and program committee member in international journals and conferences. Her broader research interests include edge AI, predictive analytics, smart environments, and cultural heritage preservation in both terrestrial and underwater environments.
Department of Cultural Technology and Communication Department, University of the Aegean, Mytilene, Greece
Prof. Christos-Nikolaos Anagnostopoulos (https://www.linkedin.com/in/cnanagnostopoulos/) is the Head of Cultural Technology and Communication Department, University of the Aegean, and Director of the Intelligent Systems Laboratory in the same department. He received his Mechanical Engineering Diploma from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) in 1998 and his Ph.D. degree from the Electrical and Computer Engineering Dpt., NTUA, in 2002. His research interests include image processing, computer graphics, cultural informatics and artificial intelligence. He has published more than 180 papers in scientific journals and conferences on the above subjects, as well as in other related fields in informatics.
Chalmers Next Labs, Chalmers University of Technology Foundation, Göteborg, Sweden
Sara Abouebeid is a research engineer at Chalmers Next Labs in Sweden with a background in architecture and urban planning. Her research focuses on developing data-driven digital twin frameworks that support decision-making for existing buildings, neighborhoods, and new developments in the transition toward more sustainable and resilient urban environments. Combining expertise in architecture, GIS, urban building energy modelling, simulation, and digital tool development, she integrates diverse datasets, parametric workflows, and performance models to address data gaps and uncertainty in the built environment. Her research has contributed to urban building energy modelling, positive energy districts, energy communities, renewable energy integration, and digital twin platforms for scenario exploration and stakeholder engagement. Through her research, she investigates how digital twins can function as learning and decision-support systems, helping planners, engineers, and policymakers evaluate future development pathways despite fragmented information and uncertain conditions.
Registration
This is a FREE webinar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information on how to join the webinar. Registrations with academic institutional email addresses will be prioritized.
Certificates of attendance will be delivered to those who attend the live webinar.
Can’t attend? Register anyway and we’ll let you know when the recording is available to watch.
Program
|
Speaker/Presentation |
Time in CEST |
|
Chair Introduction Dr. Asimina Dimara |
11:00 am-11:10 am |
|
Non-Invasive Digital Methods for the Modelling and Preservation of Cultural Heritage Dr. Asimina Dimara |
11:10 am-11:30 am |
|
Τhe Evolution of HBIM towards Digital Twins Prof. Christos Anagnostopoulos |
11:30 am-11:50 am |
|
Parametric Digital Twins for Buildings: Supporting Decisions under Uncertainty Sara Abouebeid |
11:50 am-12:10 pm |
|
Q&A |
12:10 pm-12:25 pm |
|
Closing of Webinar Dr. Asimina Dimara (Chair) |
12:25 pm-12:30 pm |
Sponsors and Partners
Organizers
