No. 50. Proceedings of the 13th fib International PhD Symposium in Civil Engineering - 26-28 August 2020 - Paris, France PDF format

A long-standing tradition of fib, the PhD Symposia started in 1996. They were established by Prof. Balázs in Budapest to support young researchers and practitioners. Since then, fib National Groups have organised twelve symposia. The PhD Symposia have become highly recognised events, with the participation of international experts attending as PhD supervisors or keynote speakers. A two-year interval between each symposium allows for thorough preparation and for the inclusion of a sufficient amount of new research. The spirit of these symposia is to foster a relaxed and friendly atmosphere suited to young researchers.

The 13th fib Symposium was scheduled to be held in Paris, following the previous symposium in Prague in 2018. However, 2020 was a very special year due to the global pandemic. As a result, it was decided to split the Symposium into two parts. In 2020 (26–28 August), an online symposium is organised for students defending their PhD during that year. In 2021 (21–23 July), it is hoped that a more traditional PhD Symposium will be held in Paris for students completing their PhD later. The online symposium represents a new experience, from which valuable lessons will be drawn for future fib events.

Two organisations are involved in the preparation of these events: Université Gustave Eiffel and the École normale supérieure Paris-Saclay, with the support of the French Association of Civil Engineering (AFGC—representing the national fib group), the University Association of Civil Engineering (AUGC), and of course fib.

Following a standard review process, the 40 selected papers for 2020 are divided into four themes for oral presentations, with two parallel sessions over three days. Thirty minutes are allocated for each presentation to allow for extended discussion, which is an essential part of the spirit of these PhD Symposia. The best papers will be awarded prizes by our sponsors (BASF–Master Builders Solutions and EFB – École Française du Béton) as well as by fib. We gratefully acknowledge the support of all sponsors who contributed to the organisation of the Symposium.

For 2020, the programme is further enriched by a keynote lecture. Bernard Mathieu (https://www.hop3.eu/experts/bernard-mathieu) will present his views on the existential challenge of concrete in a carbon-neutral economy. This topic is particularly important for young researchers, who will undoubtedly be involved in addressing this challenge.

The social programme, which is usually an important aspect of the PhD Symposium for networking among young participants, could not take place this year. Efforts will be made to ensure a full social programme for the second part of the Symposium in 2021.

Finally, we wish all participants—especially PhD students—an enriching and stimulating event. We hope that this Symposium will help them progress in their scientific work and perhaps also become more involved in fib activities.

Jean-Michel Torrenti, Université Gustave Eiffel
Fabrice Gatuingt, École normale supérieure Paris-Saclay