At Reincarnate, we are working to develop the technical and social means to give new opportunities to buildings, construction products and materials — thus maximising their life cycle and determining if they are suitable for reuse. This will only be possible thanks to the work of the Reincarnate team, made up of 16 partners present in 8 countries. From leading research institutes and universities to highly acclaimed SMEs and large companies — with expertise in robotics, wearables, artificial intelligence (AI) and social sciences.

Over the next few months, we will introduce our team members through the “Behind Reincarnate” interview series. On this occasion, we have asked João Gonçalves, Assistant Professor at Erasmus University Rotterdam, to tell us about his work in Reincarnate. He is part of the team responsible for developing social innovations to foster the widespread adoption of construction waste reduction concepts. Take a look at what he has told us:

Erasmus University Rotterdam(EUR) is an internationally respected, innovative and vibrant university driven to make a positive societal impact. EUR integrates high-quality academic research into their challenging and inspiring Bachelor, Master, PhD, executive programmes and online education. Their research-based education helps students develop the skills required for the current and future job market, stimulating them to think further than their assumptions: to explore other perspectives, search for new solutions and discover different insights.

EUR is among Europe’s top business and social science universities. In the Reincarnate project, it is responsible for implementing the work package related to Social, Economic and Market Innovations aiming at developing social innovations to foster the widespread adoption of construction waste reduction concepts.

User acceptance is essential for successful digital twin adoption in construction projects. While performing R&D work, Reincarnate gives substantial attention to the “digital twin roles” of the end-users in each of the three identified product development stages (design/engineering, construction, and maintenance).

EUR is renowned for its expertise in connecting social science research and humanity concerns with practical applications. The specific team involved in Reincarnate has extensive experience in studying factors that drive the adoption of sustainable innovations and practices. 

As a partner, EUR will draw on its research work within the Erasmus Centre for Media, Communication and Culture (ERMeCC) and its associations with the world-leading Rotterdam School of Management to directly contribute to the social innovation of Reincarnate and to safeguard all ethical questions occurring during the research and innovation work and the dissemination work thereafter.

Social concerns will also be covered by Reincarnate’s inclusion of white and blue-collar workers in all research and innovation work. Furthermore, careful attention to the social aspects will be given within the real demonstration cases (e.g., cultural diversity, gender, an ageing workforce, and the demography of white and blue-collar workers). This is important to develop appropriate and effective strategies to involve all stakeholders in the required participatory decision-making and align the Reincarnate innovations with different workplace policies across Europe.


Do you want to learn more about Reincarnate and the team behind the project? Subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter, so you don’t miss a thing!