Summer Course on Structural Health Monitoring 2026 (4th Edition)

5 ECTS | June 22-26, 2026, in person (30h) | 15h remotely | MSc and PhD Students

ANNOUNCEMENT: We finished the Summer Course on SHM 2026! We hope this course has given participants the knowledge, the confidence, and the network to help one of them make the next breakthrough in SHM. We'll be back next year for the 5th Edition and with a new pack of upgrades. Stay tuned!

We are happy to announce the 4th Edition of the Summer Course on Structural Health Monitoring. The in-person sessions will take place in Lisbon from June 22 to 26, 2026, Lisbon.

This blended intensive summer course, funded by the Erasmus+ Program, focuses on structural health monitoring (SHM), with 15 hours of remote sessions and 30 hours of in-person sessions. The main goal of this summer course is to introduce the concept of SHM applied to bridges and special civil structures to MSc and PhD students from several European institutions.

The SHM is posed in the context of a statistical pattern recognition paradigm, rooted in the artificial intelligence field to support the damage identification and risk-informed integrity management. Machine learning algorithms are essential to perform damage identification, by learning (or modeling) the structural behavior from the experience (past data), following the same principle of the human brain. 

In order to balance the general concept and the applicability of SHM, this course has been designed to allow students to gain a basic knowledge of SHM with hands-on experiences to demonstrate how SHM can be used for assessing the condition of structural systems, along with the lectures to give some insight into the theory and application examples.

Keywords

Structural Health Monitoring, Bridges, Wind Turbines, Machine Learning, Finite Element Modeling, Digital Twins, Risk, Resilience, Value of Information, Climate Change

Most relevant upgrades since last edition

A new package of upgrades are being prepared for the 4th edition in 2026, namely: 

• Semih Gonen and Luca Pèla (UPC, Barcelona) as instructors, adding a new dimension in terms of SHM for Heritage Structures & Preservation.
• Introduction of an Industry Session, consisting of a half-day session to present successful SHM applications and case studies.
• And of course, it will be kept the Homework, SHM in Action and Bridge Tour as part of the program. 

Funding source

Erasmus+ Program through Blended Intensive Program (BIP), Student Mobility of Education (SME), and Staff Mobility for Teaching (SMT). The BIP covers expenses related to the course organization. SMT and SME cover expenses related to traveling and housing of students in Lisbon.

Which are the host and partners institutions?

Lusófona University is host and responsible for the organization and funding of the course through BIP. Each partner institution is responsible to find students and staff members through SME and SMT (this funding must be coordinated with the international office of each partner institution).

Who can participate?

MSc and PhD students from countries participating in the Erasmus+ Program who are interested in speeding up the learning process of SHM posed in the context of a statistical pattern recognition paradigm.

Registration

A limited number of vacancies is available. This registration form serves as a pre-enrolment to express your interest and does not guarantee final admission until all required steps are completed. If you have any questions, jus send an email to Este endereço de email está protegido contra piratas. Necessita ter o JavaScript autorizado para o visualizar..

Course material

PowerPoints, books, and research articles: all course materials are available on a virtual drive. Students are encoureged to bring their own laptops.

Student evaluation

The evaluation includes three main components: 1) individual homework, 2) project report and presentation, and 3) individual assessment. Small groups of four, five, or six participants are formed to design an SHM system or a damage identification strategy for laboratory or real-world structures. Each group is assigned a supervisor for guidance.  Each group's outcome must be documented in a report and defended in an oral examination, conducted publicly in the form of a seminar. Students are graded, and the grades will be awarded according to the university’s Education and Examination Regulations.

Remote lectures

1. Introduction to SHM
2. Statistical pattern recognition paradigm
3. Data-based modeling
4. SHM in Action: hands-on experience
5. Physics-informed SHM with hybrid-based modeling
6. Introduction to risk-based integrity management
7. The role of SHM for ancient bridges
8. Trending SHM topics: The role of transfer learning for SHM and the role of SHM for bridge adaptation to climate change
9. BIM for SHM
10. Limitations, grand challenges, and trends

In-person lectures

1. Field instrumentation
2. Risk and resilience
3. Probabilistic FE modeling
4. Value of information
5. Vision-based monitoring
6. SHM for Heritage Structures & Preservation
7. Sensing in Action (lab activities)

Instructors

• Eloi Figueiredo, Lusófona University, Portugal
• Ionut Moldovan, Lusófona University, Portugal
• Luca Pèla, Barcelona Tech - UPC, Spain
• Luís Oliveira Santos, National Laboratory of Civil Engineering, Portugal
• Marek Salamak, Silesian University of Technology, Poland
• Marcin Jasiński, Silesian University of Technology, Poland
• Maria Pina Limongelli, Politecnico di Milano, Italy
• Michael Havbro Faber, Lusófona University, Portugal
• Mihai Nedelcu, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania
• Pier Francesco Giordano, Politecnico di Milano, Italy
• Roland Kromanis, University of Twente, Netherlands
• Semih Gonen, Barcelona Tech - UPC, Spain

Invited Instructors

• João Canto, Lusófona University, Portugal
• Ana Silva, Lusófona University, Portugal
• Mohammad Abedi, Lusófona University, Portugal
• Nuno Santos, Lusófona University, Portugal
• Magdalena Roxana Păcurar, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania
• Daniel Colmenares, DEWESoft

Industry Session

• ASDEA, SRL
• DEWESoft - measurement innovation
• HBK - Hottinger Brüel & Kjær
• MRA/Álava
• Kistler
• Perfect Decibel

General schedule

Remote schedule (draft)

The remote activities will take place online. The link will be sent by email one day before the session.

In-person schedule (draft)

The in-person activities will take place at our campus in Lisbon: Universidade Lusófona - Centro Universitario Lisboa.

Testimony

Testimonies

"This program was a great opportunity to expand my skills, build meaningful connections, and experience Lisbon at its most vibrant. I'm leaving with wonderful memories, a thousand pictures, and professional collaborations already in motion." Bruh Tesfaye

"The summer course provided an excellent opportunity to deepen my knowledge of structural health monitoring and to exchange views with researchers and students from various countries. I particularly appreciated the professional organization of the program, the high quality of the lectures, and the supportive, respectful attitude of the instructors toward all participants. It was a wonderful chance to broaden my horizons and connect with remarkable people." Rafał Szafraniec

"The Summer Course on SHM brings together knowledge and experience from experts representing different universities, research groups, and countries, providing participants with a broad, multidisciplinary perspective and expanding their horizons. It also offers a unique opportunity to experience the latest structural monitoring technologies in practice, exchange ideas with researchers and professionals working in the same field, and build valuable international connections." Maksymilian Janicki

"The combination of theoretical concepts, practical exercises, presentations by professionals from SHM companies, and demonstrations of monitoring equipment gave me valuable insights into how structural health monitoring can be integrated into my current research and support more informed infrastructure assessment and management decisions." Leila Jafari

"This summer course was an unforgettable experience and an incredible opportunity to deepen my knowledge of Structural Health Monitoring. Throughout the week, I gained valuable insights, discovered new research areas and practical applications, and learned from highly skilled professionals with different academic and professional backgrounds. However, this experience went far beyond SHM. It was also a week of learning about people, fields of study, their work, their cultures, and their life stories. I had the privilege of meeting truly remarkable people, sharing ideas, laughter, and unique moments that will remain in my heart for a long time. I returned home not only with new knowledge and a broader professional perspective, but also with beautiful memories and genuine new friendships. I am deeply grateful to everyone who made this week so meaningful. Thank you once again for this wonderful opportunity and for all the effort invested in organizing such a valuable and memorable course. It will be amazing to have the opportunity to come back in the future." Cristina Adina Rotar

Previous editions

• Summer Course on Structural Health Monitoring 2025
• Summer Course on Structural Health Monitoring 2024
• Summer Course on Structural Health Monitoring 2023

Notes

• A Transcript of Records and a Certificate of Attendance will be issued at the end of the course.
• For more information, please contact Este endereço de email está protegido contra piratas. Necessita ter o JavaScript autorizado para o visualizar. or Este endereço de email está protegido contra piratas. Necessita ter o JavaScript autorizado para o visualizar..
• This is an international course that involves a lot of people, so there may be changes at any time.
• Last update: June 16, 2026.