Digital Twins in Higher Education Estates: A Practical Guide

Digital Twins in Higher Education Estates: A Practical Guide

In the context of increasing student expectations, constrained funding, regulatory pressures and ambitious carbon reduction targets, universities face a growing need to optimise how their estates are planned, operated and maintained. One of the most promising developments in this area is the adoption of digital twins, to provide insight into building performance, space utilisation, energy consumption and asset condition.

This ebook explores:

• The strategic value of implementing digital twins across higher education estates.
• How digital twins align with sector priorities and policy drivers, including net zero commitments, digital transformation agendas and sustainability frameworks.
• Practical use cases for digital twins in areas such as space and timetabling optimisation, energy management, asset performance and maintenance planning, campus safety and resilience.
• The measurable value proposition of digital twins, including operational cost efficiencies, improved learning and research environments, enhanced student and staff experience and environmental benefits.
• A practical implementation approach, covering data readiness, pilot initiatives, skills and capability development, stakeholder engagement and scalable deployment across university estates.

By adopting digital twins, higher education institutions can move towards a more integrated, data-driven approach to estate management, enabling better-informed decisions, improved operational performance and long-term value creation in support of institutional strategy and sustainability objectives.