Seeing earthquake damage alongside increasing infrastructure development in Nepal set Bibek Bhusal on a path toward a career in structural engineering. Now studying at Engineering Institute of Technology (EIT) in Melbourne, he is exploring how AI and digital twins could support safer buildings while finding his feet in a new country and research environment.
For Bibek Bhusal, the question of how to make buildings safer began with seeing what happens when they fail. Growing up in Nepal, he saw the damage earthquakes caused to communities and infrastructure. He wanted to understand how better design and maintenance could help buildings withstand such events.
That interest has brought him to Melbourne, where he is studying the On-Campus Doctor of Engineering at EIT. In his first semester at the time of his interview, Bhusal is building the research skills to explore an AI-enabled digital twin framework for reinforced concrete buildings in seismic regions.
His goal remains closely connected to the concerns that first drew him to engineering: improving the safety of existing structures and the communities that depend on them.
Bringing Practical Experience into Research
Bhusal studied civil engineering in Nepal before completing a master’s in structural engineering in India. Alongside his academic journey, he gained experience in construction projects, structural consultancy, and post-disaster infrastructure assessments in Nepal. He also taught civil engineering students at the diploma level.
Those experiences reinforced the importance of connecting engineering theory with what happens on site. They also helped shape the kind of research he wanted to pursue: work that could contribute to more resilient infrastructure.
“I chose EIT because I wanted a program that combines advanced research with practical engineering applications,” he says.
The opportunity to continue his research in Australia appealed to him, particularly with a focus on improving existing structures in earthquake-prone regions. His earlier studies and practical work had given him a direction to pursue engineering. Doctoral study offered a way to investigate it further.
Learning to Ask New Questions
Moving to Australia meant adjusting to a different academic system while learning new research tools and building a professional network. Bhusal describes managing those changes together as his biggest challenge so far.
“What helped me was staying consistent and being open to learning,” he says. “The support from lecturers, staff, and classmates has made the transition much easier.”
Asking questions and participating in discussions have become important parts of that adjustment, along with accepting that research progresses one step at a time.
An infrastructure and sustainability seminar at EIT provided a memorable point of connection. Meeting researchers, academics, and industry professionals helped him see how their work could come together around practical infrastructure challenges.
It also strengthened his sense of belonging within the EIT community and his motivation to contribute through his own research.
Exploring Digital Tools for Safer Structures
During his first semester, Bhusal’s learning has covered artificial intelligence, machine learning, and Python, alongside research methodologies and ethics. He is beginning to connect these areas with structural health monitoring: using information about a structure’s condition to support engineering assessment and maintenance decisions.
As CSIRO’s work on digital twins and structural monitoring illustrates, digital representations of physical assets can bring together information to support decisions, while sensors and data analysis can help engineers monitor structural condition.
For Bhusal, the research direction is an AI-enabled digital twin framework focused on reinforced concrete buildings in seismic regions. He is exploring how AI and data-driven methods could fit into that work.
Python and machine learning concepts are helping him understand how to analyze engineering data. Research methodologies and ethics are helping him approach the investigation in a more structured and responsible way. These are early steps toward the practical contribution he hopes to make.
Recognition and a Reason to Keep Going
Receiving an EIT Doctorate Research Scholarship has been a meaningful milestone for Bhusal. He sees it as recognition of his academic efforts and research potential, and as an encouragement to keep developing work with a practical benefit to society.
He is also proud of the journey itself, from Nepal to India and now Australia. Beyond his studies, he enjoys engineering seminars, learning about new technologies, and meeting people from different cultures and engineering backgrounds.
Looking ahead, Bibek Bhusal wants to contribute to both structural engineering research and practice, with an ambition to support safer infrastructure in Australia, Nepal, and elsewhere.
Bhusal believes in pursuing his dreams and sees EIT as helping him build a path toward them.
For now, that path involves learning how to investigate a problem that has stayed with him across countries and stages of study: how engineering professionals can help buildings better protect the people who use them.
This article was published October 1st, 2026 and the content is current as at the date of publication.
