The FUTUREROADS Programme Final Event was an excellent opportunity to reflect on the achievements of the programme and connect with fellows working across a range of research projects.

Assistant Professor Anand Sreeram, Transportation Engineering, University of Nottingham (Cohort 1 Fellow)

Future Roads Fellowships (FUTUREROADS) is a £6.3 million, five-year international research and training initiative hosted by the Department of Engineering, which concludes its landmark run in September 2026 after successfully advancing research into the digital and sustainable transformation of road networks.

The outcomes of the programme are diverse and far-reaching disseminated in a large variety of output formats (conference papers, journal papers, reports, presentations, seminars, etc.) to reach both academia and industry worldwide, and have resulted in three very successful cohorts of fellows, most of whom are now assistant or full professors at universities around the world and continue to work with the same industry organisations that supported their projects, or work at senior positions in these organisations.

Over the 5 years that it ran, FUTUREROADS offered 26 fellowships, each lasting for 36 months, in 3 recruitment rounds focusing primarily in 5 areas:

• Digital twins
• Smart materials
• Data science
• Automation and robotics
• Sustainability solutions

In celebration of these achievements, FUTUREROADS fellows, industry partners, researchers, and collaborators recently gathered in Cambridge for a week of discussion, knowledge exchange, and innovation.

The programme began with the FUTUREROADS Industry Day on 22 July 2026, followed by the FUTUREROADS Conference, held alongside the 23rd Smart and Sustainable Built Environment (SASBE) Conference and the 2nd Building Digital Twin (BDT) Workshop on 23–24 July 2026.

The events highlighted the value of bringing together academia, industry, and policy to address key challenges in digital, sustainable, and resilient infrastructure. Throughout the week, delegates shared research, exchanged ideas, and built connections across topics including digital twins, data science, automation, sustainability, smart materials, and resilience.

The FUTUREROADS conference included two days of activities: one dedicated to Industry Partners and one featuring scientific presentations by the 23 fellows who have participated in the programme.

Industry Day

The Industry Day (22 July 2026) brought together industry partners, FUTUREROADS fellows, researchers, and practitioners through keynote talks, interactive discussions, case studies, and networking opportunities focused on the future of connected, intelligent, and sustainable infrastructure.

Academic Keynotes provided strategic insights into AI, digital twins, smart city systems, and sustainable infrastructure, setting the context for the day's discussions.

FUTUREROADS Fellows organised the following 3 events:

Sustainability & Smart Materials Session explored vulnerable road-user safety and the adoption of low-carbon materials, helping identify practical routes for implementing sustainable infrastructure solutions.

Trimble-Sponsored Digital Twins Session examined how surveying, scanning, BIM, digital twins, and asset management can be connected through digital workflows, promoting collaboration between technology providers, researchers, and infrastructure owners.

Automation & Robotics Session explored AI-enabled safety, human-machine collaboration, and robotics deployment in construction and infrastructure maintenance, identifying opportunities for future research and industry adoption.

The Conference

The FUTUREROADS Conference (23–24 July 2026) showcased research from FUTUREROADS fellows and international experts across the programme's five themes: Digital Twins, Data Science, Smart Materials, Automation & Robotics, and Sustainability. The conference enabled dissemination of research findings, interdisciplinary collaboration, and engagement with academic and industry stakeholders.

The Debate Event challenged participants to discuss the motion, "This House believes that automation will reduce the number of jobs in the built environment." The session encouraged critical discussion on the future impact of automation, AI, workforce development, and skills across the infrastructure sector, bringing together perspectives from academia and industry.

Overall, the event strengthened industry-academic collaboration, increased the visibility of FUTUREROADS research, facilitated new partnerships, and supported discussions on the future of digital, sustainable, and resilient infrastructure.

What participants had to say

“I’m proud to have been part of FUTUREROADS from the very beginning, when it was still just a seed of an idea, and to have seen it grow from an early conversation into the exciting programme we see today.

National Highways got involved in FUTUREROADS because we saw a remarkable opportunity to connect world-class academic research with the real challenges and opportunities facing the strategic road network. The future of roads is changing rapidly, from decarbonisation and climate resilience to digital twins, automation, robotics, data science and new materials. We wanted to be part of shaping that future, not just responding to it.”

Phillip Proctor, Head of Research, SES Quality, Standards, Research & Innovation,  National Highways

“… I enjoyed the day hugely, a good balance of interesting topics and variety of material, all of which led to some equally interesting discussions and debate. I spoke to a number of industry folk who all saw the relevance of what has been achieved, and were forming these thoughts on how to take this forward. The event nicely reinforced this."

Professor Dr Matt Peck, Director of Innovation -Transportation at AtkinsRéalis

“The FUTUREROADS Programme Final Event was an excellent opportunity to reflect on the achievements of the programme and connect with fellows working across a range of research projects. I particularly valued the opportunity to exchange ideas, learn more about the work of other fellows, and take part in the programme’s scientific and social activities. It was also a pleasure to reconnect with my former supervisor, Professor Abir Al-Tabbaa, and to meet several eminent researchers and industry professionals working across the field."

Assistant Professor Anand Sreeram, Transportation Engineering, University of Nottingham (Cohort 1 Fellow)

The FUTUREROADS Programme Summary Brochure (PDF) can be downloaded at the link below.