As part of the "Sino-D-A-CH Centre for Smart Civil Infrastructure", which is funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst - DAAD), two students of the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering were selected for a scholarship. They are now travelling to the Chinese partner university to complete their Master’s theses.

We are pleased to announce that Shabbir Ali, a student in the Subsurface Engineering program, is among this year’s scholarship recipients. Under the joint supervision of Prof. Merita Tafili (Ruhr University Bochum) and Prof. Liu Fang (Tongji University), he will write his Master’s thesis on

"Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical Characterization and Constitutive Modeling of Aquifer Soils for Geothermal Applications."

This collaboration underscores the Centre’s commitment to fostering international academic exchange and advancing innovative research in smart civil infrastructure.

Well equipped with a comprehensive travel kit provided by the Dean’s Office Director, Dr. Christoph Baer (pictured), Shabbir Ali set off for Shanghai at the end of September.