We have our first doctor: Binyu Lei!

On 14 October 2025, Binyu Lei has defended her PhD thesis Urban Digital Twins: From Conceptualisation To Adoption Through A Human-Centric Lens. Congratulations!

This is not only a great milestone for Binyu but also for our Lab: she is the first PhD graduate from our research group. Binyu has started her doctoral studies in 2021, following her graduation as Master in Urban Planning from the University of Melbourne and industry experience.

The committee members were Adrian Chong, Chaewon Ahn, Eddie Lau, and Filip Biljecki (thesis advisor).

She will continue her career as Assistant Professor in Urban Planning and Data Analytics at the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham Dubai. We wish her all the best and lots of continued successes, and we thank her for the collaboration in the past years. Binyu has greatly contributed to our research group and has helped shape its research agenda.

To learn more about Binyu’s work, visit her website and her Google Scholar profile.

Short abstract of her thesis:

Digital twins, as a means of innovative technology, have gained popularity in tackling urban issues and supporting decision-making in cities. This innovation advances urban analytics in a variety of domains, such as energy consumption calculation, what-if scenario simulation, or planning regulations evaluation. However, current discourse on urban digital twins often reflects a technology-optimism bias, while overlooking the human and social dimensions that are essential to a healthy, liveable, and sustainable city. This thesis revisits urban digital twins through a human-centric lens, aligning with a shift of socio-technical paradigm in the state of the art. This thesis examines the lifecycle of urban digital twins from conceptualisation to socially relevant practices, organised by a research framework incorporating human perspectives. In parallel, new methods and frameworks are developed to integrate human-related information, subjective perception, and interaction into the operation of urban digital twins.

The thesis contributes to the research landscape in various ways: (1) identifying lifecycle challenges and advancing the socio-technical paradigm of urban digital twins, (2) generating a holistic benchmark of the properties of 3D city models in urban digital twins, (3) enriching semantic and perceptual information in urban digital twins through through crowdsourced and human generated data, (4) leveraging humans as sensors to complete the information loop in urban digital twins, and (5) demonstrating how human-centric urban digital twins can support socially relevant applications, including the dynamic quality of life and outdoor comfort. These insights not only challenge the prevailing narrative of urban digital twins as purely data-centric technology but also pave the way for multidisciplinary practices in the broader discussion, fostering urban sustainability, resilience, and public health and well-being.