Transforming Construction with Off-site Methods and Technologies – TCOT 2026

Dates: Tuesday 18 - Thursday 20 August 2026 

Location: Business and Law School, City Campus East (CCE1), Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 1XA, UK 

Venue Access: The main entrance is step-free with automatic doors and there is lift access to all floors. More information on building access can be found on our AccessAble pages. 

Transport: More information on travelling to CCE1 and Newcastle upon Tyne can be found here.

Registration fees:

  Full conference: £500+VAT (early bird) / £600+VAT (standard) 

One day: £250+VAT (early bird) / £300+VAT (standard)

Target Delegates: 200 participants from industry, academia and government

Keynote Sessions: Four pioneering plenary talks and keynote speeches 

Previous Conference information: Transforming Construction with Off-site Methods and Technologies, University of New Brunswick, August 20 - 22, 2024.

Programme to follow. 

Exhibitor and Sponsorship Opportunities

TCOT 2026 offers a variety of partnership opportunities to advertise your organisation and/or products to members of the Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Facilities Management industry. Our delegates will include industry leaders, academics, students and government and public sector officials. Partnering with this conference will allow your organisation to benefit from association with Northumbria University, IC3 (International Centre for Connected Construction), the University of New Brunswick OCRC, and CIB, while reaching out to a unique, captive audience in an engaging environment. There are many different partnership packages and benefit opportunities available at the conference, and we welcome the opportunity to discuss custom partnership packages that best suit your needs.

Download our Conference Partnership Opportunities Brochure

Conference Scientific Committee 

• Dr Marzia Bolpagni, Northumbria University, United Kingdom
• Dr Sayed Reza Razavialavi, Arcadis, Canada
• Dr Hexu Liu, Western Michigan University, United States
• Dr Buddhini Ginigaddara, University of Newcastle, Australia
• Dr Mostafa Jelodar, Massey University, New Zealand
• Dr. Nima Gerami Seresht, Durham University
• Dr Ilnaz Ashayeri, Birmingham City University, United Kingdom
• Huub Keizers, TNO – Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research, The Netherlands
• Pekka Huovinen, Lic.Sc., Business Management PJH, Finland
• Dr Rehan Masood, Otago Polytechnic, New Zealand
• Dr Ehsan Noroozinejad, Western Sydney University, Australia

Mohamad Kassem - Moderator

Mohamad Kassem is Professor of Digital Construction and Founder and Lead of the Digital Innovation in Construction and Engineering Lab (NU-DICE) at Newcastle University, UK. His research focuses on developing digital innovation technologies and processes to address productivity, circularity and decarbonisation challenges in construction and the built environment. He has led over £12 million in funded research and published more than 170 peer-reviewed outputs.

Professor Kassem is also recognised for his sustained collaboration with the private and public sector, working closely with policymakers, clients, contractors, consultants and technology providers. He has served as a digital transformation advisor to the European Commission, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Construction Industry Training Board, the Centre for Digital Built Britain (University of Cambridge), and the governments of Brazil, Mexico and others—supporting national-scale digital strategies in more than 11 countries. His work has been recognised with awards such as the Scherer Award from the European Council for Computing in Construction, the RISE Award for Digital Innovation in Sustainability, and an Enterprise Fellowship.

Dr. Zhen Lei

Zhen Lei is Associate Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of New Brunswick, where he holds the OSCO Research Chair in Off-site Construction and serves as Scientific Director of the Off-site Construction Research Centre (OCRC).

His research expertise spans construction process simulation and optimisation, Building Information Modelling (BIM), process improvement, and emerging digital technologies. He is a frequent speaker at industry and academic events across Canada and the United States, and his work is documented in over 70 publications in leading journals and conference proceedings.

David Greenwood

David Greenwood is Emeritus Professor of Construction Management in the Department of Architecture and the Built Environment at Northumbria University, UK. Before entering academia, he spent a decade working as a Site Engineer and Senior Estimator in the construction industry — a grounding that continues to shape his practical, impact-focused approach to research.

He is co-founder and director of BIM Academy (2013–2023), a joint venture that won the 2017 Times Higher Education Award for most innovative collaboration between industry and academia. A former Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Building and Chair of the Association of Researchers in Construction Management (ARCOM), he has spent over twenty years consulting, training, and lecturing for commercial and governmental organisations around the world.

His academic output includes more than 150 publications, several authored and co-authored textbooks, and research funded by the EPSRC, AHRC, and UK and international government agencies. Throughout his career, he has been a consistent advocate for initiatives that drive better practice across the construction industry.

Professor Mathew Aitchison, CEO, Building 4.0 CRC

Professor Mathew Aitchison is Chief Executive Officer of Building 4.0 Collaborative Research Centre and a Professor of Architecture at Monash University.

Building 4.0 CRC is an industry-led research initiative co-funded by the Australian Government and its work is focused on building better, smarter, safer, faster, and more sustainably, particularly in housing.

Prior to taking up the role of CEO of Building 4.0 CRC, Mathew led the establishment of Monash University’s Future Building Initiative.

He was previously a Professor of Architecture at the University of Sydney where he was Director of the Innovation in Applied Design Lab (IAD Lab).

Over the past decade, Mathew has directed a series of large, collaborative research projects exploring the future of building.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathew-aitchison-2452b671

Helena Lidelow

With over 15 years of research at Luleå University of Technology as her foundation, Helena has spent her career turning academic insight into real-world impact in industrialized and modular construction.

From 2010 to 2022, she led R&D and Design at Lindbäcks Bygg, one of Sweden's leading modular multi-family building companies, where she navigated the critical balance between standardization and flexibility that defines successful offsite construction.

In 2022, Helena brought her expertise to the global stage as CTO at Volumetric Building Companies in the US, where she established operations at the former Katerra facility in Tracy, California, and built out the team in Berwick — driving industrialized construction forward on an international scale.

Since late 2023, she has returned to Europe as Business Leader for VBC International, where she continues to shape the future of modular construction across the region.

Helena knows how to make modular construction work — and she loves doing it.

Professor Jeff Rankin 

Jeff Rankin is a Professor and holder of the M. Patrick Gillin Chair in Construction Engineering and Management in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of New Brunswick. He holds a PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of British Columbia, he is also currently the President of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering

His career bridges academia and industry. Before joining UNB, he served as Executive Director of the Construction Technology Centre Atlantic, acting as an innovation broker for the region's construction sector. His hands-on construction experience spans project and construction management roles across a wide range of project types — from high-rise buildings to major infrastructure, including the Confederation Bridge.

Today, his research focuses on improving construction industry performance through innovation: the thoughtful adoption of advanced technologies and sustainable practices in the delivery of public infrastructure.

Professor Pamela Bell 

Pamela Bell is Professor of Practice for Advanced Construction at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington, where her work sits at the intersection of design, business, and innovative construction methods. Her subject matter expertise spans offsite manufacturing, design-thinking, dynamic strategy, and future-focused governance — with a particular passion for affordable housing supply and added-value timber manufacture.

Pamela founded OffsiteNZ in 2010 — New Zealand's peak body for innovative construction — out of her Master of Architecture thesis Kiwi Prefab, which was later published as a book and presented as a museum exhibition. She led the organisation until 2019, when offsite construction reached a genuine tipping point of awareness across government, industry, and the public.

Her career defies easy categorisation. She has served as Chief Everything Officer at Building Institute Aotearoa, Chair of the NZ Construction Industry Council, and board director across a wide range of built environment organisations including Urban Plus, Abodo Wood, BRANZ, and ConCOVE. She is also an active Innovation Consultant working with start-ups and commercial organisations in the sector.

Beyond construction, Pamela's background includes high-performance sport (1998 Winter Olympics), entrepreneurship across ventures including Fruition Apparel and NZ Snowboard Academy, and academic course design — she created the Design + Business course at Victoria University to open up broader career pathways for architecture and design students. She has also led workshops and written for the New Zealand Institute of Directors on the interface between design thinking and governance.

Pamela is a 2019 Victoria University of Wellington Alumni Award recipient.

Conference committee

The conference is being organised by the conference committee below and the Northumbria University Event Management Team - Venues at Northumbria.

Special Conference Hotel Rates 

Thanks to our partners at the NewcastleGateshead Initiative (NGI), attendees can take advantage of special, discounted hotel rates across a range of conveniently located city hotels. Don't miss out — view the hotel selection, compare rates, and book now!

Conference Dinner

The Conference Dinner will be held on Wednesday 19 August 2026 at St. James' Park, home of the world-famous Newcastle United Football Club. 

Dinner menu details will be posted soon. 

For general information or enquiries about the conference please email the Conference Committee on tcot.2026@northumbria.ac.uk. 

For information about submissions please email Vokan Ezcan on volkan.ezcan@unb.ca .