The NEB Academy is the flagship initiative of the European Commission set out to accelerate the up- and re-skilling of construction professionals. A network of training hubs is being established across Europe to connect regional competencies and facilitate access to latest training formats and learning contents on sustainability, circularity and bio-based materials. Its mission is to train, upskill, and reskill the construction ecosystem to achieve carbon neutrality and a beautiful, sustainable, and inclusive transformation of the built environment.

The first NEB Academy Hubs have been launched with the signature of Memorandums of Understanding between 14 organisations in 11 countries. The NEB Academy Pioneer Hub for Sustainable Built Environments with Renewable Materials (NEBAP Hub) established at the University of Primorska in 2023 is expanding through collaboration with Holzbau Austria and Lodz University of Technology, offering trainings in Slovenia, Austria, and Poland. Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE), Aalto University, and Estonian Academy of Arts have initiated the NEBA North Hub connecting. The NEBA South Hub is being established by Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) and CESEFOR Foundation in Spain and Liguria Region in Italy. Bauhaus Earth together with Technical University Berlin (TUB) and Technical University for Sustainable Development (HNEE) are forming the NEBA Berlin-Brandenburg Hub.

These regional NEBA Hubs will be supported by the European NEBA Outreach Hub, established by InnovaWood, European Association for Architectural Education (EAAE), and BOKU University in Austria, a member of the European Bioeconomy University (EBU). The Hub will outreach towards other networks, initiatives and projects in the construction sector and skills domain, communicating the activities of the NEBA Alliance and its Hubs to European policy actors, their network members, and many stakeholders.

All partner institutions are committed to design trainings for all relevant stakeholders in the construction ecosystem. Close collaboration will enable that all regions of Europe can gain access to high quality trainings offered both onsite and online. The trainings offered are of different scale, from awareness raising, to certified trainings of recognition as well as trainings leading to certification of acquired competences obtained through micro credentials and other formats.

The next step of the consortium is to define operating models of each of the NEBA Hubs and officially establish the NEB Academy umbrella organisation. The NEB Academy is going to be open and inclusive for other actors in Europe that will be able to join. A special open call for onboarding the NEB Academy will be published in February 2025.

Quotes from NEBA Alliance members

• Prof. Andreja Kutnar, University of Primorska, Slovenia, lead coordinator of the NEBA Alliance: “The establishment of the NEBA Hubs throughout Europe are an important step towards achieving the mission of the NEB Academy. It is important not to just create trainings relevant for the different regions, but also assure we can deliver them in many national languages across Europe.”
• Prof. Philipp Misselwitz, Bauhaus Earth & Technical University Berlin, Germany: “The regional hubs of the New European Bauhaus Academy will develop place and context specific, creative, science- and practice-based learning formats to reach those who urgently need a better understanding of sustainable, nature-based construction and the opportunities and challenges in the socio-ecological transformation of the built environment.”
• Prof. Matti Kuittinen, Aalto University, Finland: “The built environment needs to be turned from an environmental problem into a solution of better living within the planetary boundaries. We need the input and dedication of everyone who works in the construction and real-estate sector. This new academy will have an instrumental role in providing the necessary new skills for making it all happen.”
• Dr. Uwe Kies, InnovaWood, Belgium: “The skills gap is the main bottleneck which we need to overcome to unleash the biobased revolution in the construction sector. Building with biomaterials such as wood requires well trained professionals, and we need to target especially the new generation of architects, builders and workers. It is a tremendous opportunity for creating attractive jobs with both manual and high-tech engineering profiles which have a bright future.”
• Dr. Daniel Ibañez, IAAC, Spain: “The penetration of NEB principles to transform the built environment towards more ecological, social and socially just societies it is highly dependent upon training and up-skilling the building and construction sector. This is particularly relevant in the south of Europe where there is profound lack of labour and decarbonising industrialisation processes.”

The NEBA Alliance project is supported by the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking and its members under Horizon Europe grant no. 101160532 from 2024 to 2026.

Read the official press release