Our News

MetaInfrastructure proudly participated in the 4th EU Mission Adaptation Forum, where leading experts, policymakers, and stakeholders gathered to address the pressing need for climate-resilient infrastructure across European cities and regions.

Key discussions highlighted the role of smart financing tools—including taxation, insurance, reinsurance, and public-private partnerships (PPPs)—in accelerating urban adaptation strategies. Emphasis was placed on cultivating a culture of sustainable urban development, backed by governance mechanisms that ensure political continuity and practical tools to combat greenwashing.

The forum reinforced a unified vision: future cities must be resilient, inclusive, and adaptable to emerging climate challenges. MetaInfrastructure remains committed to supporting this mission through knowledge sharing, collaboration, and innovation-driven urban strategies.

We are thrilled to announce the successful funding of our latest research initiative, PORTAL – Adaptive Strategies for Enhancing Threat-Agnostic Resilience of Port Ecosystems, under the HORIZON-MSCA Staff Exchanges programme, with a total grant of €1.8 million.

PORTAL is a 48-month international collaboration focused on pioneering adaptive, threat-agnostic resilience strategies to safeguard Port Infrastructure and interdependent SocioeCOlogical systems (PISCOs). The project embraces a transformative agenda—moving beyond traditional risk models to proactively mitigate cascading failures and establish robust resilience benchmarks for port ecosystems worldwide.

Why PORTAL?
As climate threats, digital vulnerabilities, and geopolitical instabilities evolve, a threat-agnostic approach becomes essential. PORTAL rethinks port resilience from a systems perspective, offering fit-for-purpose adaptation strategies across technical, ecological, and social dimensions.

Partners:

• Brunel University of London (Coordinator)
• University of Birmingham
• Politecnico di Milano 
• International Hellenic University
• German Aerospace Centre 
• Factor Social
• ARGO-E GROUP 
• CEMOSA
• ENVIVA
• Research Driven Solutions 
• University of California, Berkeley 

Shaping Future Cities: Building Capacity for Resilient, Sustainable, and Digital Built Environments.
What an inspiring and dynamic day with the MetaInfrastructure community, uniting researchers, innovators, and collaborators from across Europe and beyond—both in person and online!

Set against the backdrop of the iconic Old Joe clock tower at the University of Birmingham, the 2025 MetaInfrastructure Workshop brought together bold, interdisciplinary visions for the future of urban and infrastructure systems. We explored the cutting edge of resilient, sustainable, and digitally enabled built environments, aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and Net-Zero aspirations.

Workshop Highlights:

• Keynote by Prof. Priti Parikh (UCL Bartlett) on inclusive infrastructure and global energy access
• Presentations on AI, Generative Design, Digital Twins, IoT, and VR in infrastructure
• Collaborative planning for upcoming HORIZON Europe and Innovate UK proposals
• Sessions on publication strategy and REF impact alignment
• Discussions on the upcoming META Awards, celebrating innovation and excellence

At MetaInfrastructure, we design for people—not just systems. Our mission is to co-create next-generation infrastructure that is resilient, equitable, and future-ready.

Thank you!

A heartfelt thank you to all speakers, participants, and supporters. Together, we are shaping the future—city by city, bridge by bridge, and system by system!

We are pleased to spotlight a major contribution to the field of infrastructure resilience—published in the high-impact journal Reliability Engineering & System Safety (Impact Factor: 9.4).

Titled “A Generalised Flood Resilience Framework for Bridges”, this paper introduces the first scalable, non-location-specific and non-bridge-specific probabilistic flood fragility model. The proposed framework fills a long-standing gap in infrastructure risk modelling and supports resilience planning at scale, particularly across large bridge portfolios facing increasing flood risk due to climate change.

Read the full article here

Key Highlights:

• Unified methodology for probabilistic flood fragility assessment
• Scalable and adaptable to various bridge types and locations
• Bridges the gap between risk modelling and real-world resilience planning
• Applicable for portfolio-level infrastructure risk management

Lead Authors:

Dr.Athanasia Kazantzi
Konstantinos Bakalis

Research Institution:

School of Engineering, University of Birmingham

Project Funding:

Supported by ReCharged – MSCA Staff Exchanges and RISKADAPT

MetaInfrastructure is proud to highlight the recent publication of an agenda-setting article titled “Threat-Agnostic Resilience: Framing and Applications” in the International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction.

Drawing from the Greek term ἄγνωστος (agnostos)—meaning unknown—this groundbreaking study introduces a paradigm shift in how we frame infrastructure resilience. Unlike conventional methods that rely heavily on scenario-based planning or stress testing, this threat-agnostic framework is tailored for environments where specific hazards are uncertain or unknowable. The approach aims to build infrastructure systems that are both robust and adaptive, regardless of the nature of emerging or future threats.

Read the full article here

Why It Matters:

This publication presents a major advancement for researchers, engineers, urban planners, and policymakers aiming to develop resilient systems that are future-proof. It redefines how we conceptualize and operationalize resilience, especially in complex, multi-risk contexts where traditional threat identification methods may fall short.

Authored by:

• Benjamin Trump
• Dr Sotirios Argyroudis
• Gianluca Pescaroli
• Greg Kiker
• Robert Horton
• José Manuel Palma-Oliveira
• Igor Linkov

Institutional Affiliation:

School of Engineering, University of Birmingham

Supported by:

ReCharged – MSCA Staff Exchanges

Prof. Stergios-Aristoteles Mitoulis, leader of MetaInfrastructure.org, will deliver a keynote at the ARTISTE 2025 International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Structural Engineering, scheduled for September 14–17 at Politecnico di Torino, Italy.

Keynote Title:

​Non-destructive Bridge Damage Characterisation: From Traditional Approaches to Novel Ensemble Learning

In his presentation, Prof. Mitoulis will explore the evolution of bridge condition assessment from traditional engineering methods to cutting-edge digital and data-driven approaches. He will discuss the transition from conventional techniques like visual inspections and finite element analysis to advanced technologies such as Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Interferometry, UAV-based photogrammetry, and Digital Twins. Emphasis will be placed on a novel, cause-agnostic machine learning framework designed for non-destructive bridge damage identification, particularly effective in data-scarce environments.

Prof. Mitoulis brings extensive experience in climate resilience, sustainability, and the digitalisation of critical infrastructures. He has secured over €8 million in research funding from UKRI and Horizon Europe, leading projects such as the €1.65 million ReCharged, the €5 million ZEBAI, and the €2.5 million RISKADAPT. As Editor-in-Chief of the ICE Journal of Bridge Engineering, his contributions to the field are widely recognized.

For more details on the conference and to register, visit the ARTISTE 2025 official website.

On March 27-28, 2025, we had the privilege of participating in the UK-Ukraine Research Twinning Showcase and Networking 2025 in Liverpool.

We passionately advocated for a science-based, people-centric, and sustainable approach to reconstructing Ukraine—one that goes beyond short-term restoration and avoids profit-driven priorities.

During the event, we presented our three-year capacity-building initiative, the Empower Ukraine Project, aimed at training Ukrainian engineers in Eurocodes. This initiative supports the reconstruction of homes and critical infrastructure, contributing to a sustainable and resilient future for Ukraine.

We’re proud to announce that we’ve successfully raised £2 million to date to support Ukraine’s recovery efforts.

To learn more about our initiatives and how you can support, visit: bridgeUkraine.org

A special thank you to the event organisers, ScienceForUkraine, and Prof Igor Potapov for bringing this vital community together.

Participants: Dr Stergios Mitoulis, Dr Sotirios Argyroudis, Dariia Berestok, and Prof Shchasiana Arhun.

We are proud to announce that Professor Nataliya Shakhovska, a valued member of our Metainfrastructure team, has been elected as the new Rector of Lviv Polytechnic National University.

Election Results:

• Professor Nataliya Shakhovska – 1868 votes (55.09%)
• Nazar Podolchak – 1326 votes (39.1%)
• None of the candidates – 172 votes (5.07%)
• Invalid ballots – 25 (0.74%)

With 1868 votes (55.09%), Professor Nataliya Shakhovska earned the majority and was formally recognized as the new Rector of Lviv Polytechnic National University. Her leadership, vision, and expertise will undoubtedly significantly contribute to the university’s future.

As a member of our Metainfrastructure team, Professor Nataliya has consistently demonstrated excellence in her work, and we are excited to see her bring the same dedication and innovation to her new role.