Summit Highlights For Built Environment Stakeholders

The built environment sector is at the heart of sustainable development and digital transformation. DAIA Summit 2.0 brings together researchers, practitioners, and innovators to share how new skills, digital tools, and pedagogical approaches are reshaping construction, architecture, and urban planning. 

This curated set of highlights is designed to help built environment stakeholders focus on the most relevant opportunities for their work. 

1.

Workshop:

Strengthening Training in South Africa’s Water Sector:
Practical Implementation of Rand Water Academy Study Recommendations

Time: 11:30-12:45 
Location: TBA

This workshop presents practical steps to implement the Rand Water Academy study findings to close critical skills gaps in water infrastructure and service delivery. 

  • Why it matters to you: Water infrastructure is a cornerstone of the built environment. Closing technical skills gaps improves urban resilience, service delivery, and sustainability.
  • What you’ll take away: Research-based insights for sector-specific upskilling, strategies to align training with utility needs, and approaches for leveraging SETA and industry partnerships.

2.

Best Practice Session:

The Development of a Training Programme Focused on Teaching Design for Manufacturing, Assembly, Deconstruction and Reuse Principles to Built-Environment Students 

Time: 14:15-15.30 
Location: TBA

This session presents an innovative training program that equips built-environment students with skills in circular economy principles for construction and design. 

  • Why it matters to you: The built environment is responsible for a large share of global emissions and waste. Embedding design-for-reuse and circular practices is critical to a sustainable future.
  • What you’ll take away: Practical examples of curriculum design, lessons from piloting new training programs, and inspiration for integrating sustainability into education and workforce development. ​

3.

Paper Presentation:

The Applications of Virtual Reality: Disrupting Built Environment Education and Practice 

This paper showcases how VR technologies are transforming learning and professional practice in construction, architecture, and related fields. 

Time: 16:00-17:15 
Location: TBA

  • Why it matters to you: Immersive technologies provide new ways to teach, learn, and collaborate in the built environment — from virtual prototyping to safety training.
  • What you’ll take away: Evidence from early implementations, ideas for applying VR in teaching and training, and insights into how immersive tools improve learner engagement and workforce readiness.

Why Attend as a Built Environment Stakeholder? 

  • Gain practical tools and training models for embedding sustainability and circular economy principles into education. 
  • Discover how VR and immersive technologies are changing built environment learning and practice. 
  • Learn strategies for balancing AI use with research rigor in planning and design. 
  • Connect with researchers, educators, and industry leaders driving the digital and sustainable transformation of the built environment. 

👉 See the full program and register today. 

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