BIP Designing, building and testing a timber bridge model

Virtual part 15th of January and 4th of February  2026

Physical part 19th...23rd of January 2026 - TTK University of Applied Sciences, Estonia

📅 From January 19–23, an international BIP titled “Designing, Building and Testing a Timber Bridge Model” took place within the TimberEDU project at TTK University of Applied Sciences. The project was organised by Karin Lellep and Pille Hamburg.

🌍 In addition to 6 students from the TTK Institute of Civil Engineering, 18 international students from 6 partner universities across 5 different countries participated: Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (Vilnius Tech), Lietuvos Inžinerijos Kolegija (LIK), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), University of Galway (UoG), University of Trento (UNITN), and Häme University of Applied Sciences (HAMK).

🔧 The aim of the project was to design and build a timber bridge model and prepare a detailed cost estimate. Students worked in 6 international teams. On the final day of the intensive week, load tests were carried out on all six bridge models, allowing students to see how their designed solutions performed in real conditions.

💬 Participant feedback was very positive – participants especially highlighted the project’s practical nature and Professor Martti Kiisa’s thorough and engaging analysis during the bridge load tests.

🏭 As part of the project, students also visited the factory of Timbeco, which they found very interesting and informative, gaining a good overview of both timber house manufacturing and the company’s everyday practical operations.

🎱 In addition to academic activities, there was also time for social events — on the first day, students played billiard organized by TTK, and during their free time they explored Estonian culture by going ice skating and to the sauna and visiting museums. Feedback showed that although the project was intensive, there was still enough time for socializing and building international connections.

✨ A big thank you to all participants and partners — projects like this truly make learning and teaching come alive!