Wendy Lim
As a subject-matter expert, Mustafa Selahaldin – Data Science Manager, is one of the fewest professionals in the Digital Transformation field who has a strong technical experience of BIM and is mastering the full-stack application development at the same time. Beside his Bc.S. in Computer and systems engineering, he is LEED GA certified, Autodesk Expert Elite and Microsoft certified applications developer.
We recently did an interview with Mustafa, and learned a lot more about him and what drives him.
What attracted you to a career in Architecture, Engineering & Construction (AEC)?
Well, as an electrical engineer with software development skills and building design experiences, I found a lot of challenges in the classic AEC processes and workflows that could be solved digitally by using automation and software development, which gave me a big opportunity to invest my expertise to engage with such industry.
What advancement in AEC are you most excited about and why?
I would say transforming the AEC industry into a data-centric industry because the data is the key to unlocking the power of AEC industry. Understanding your data will give you better control over your project and will help you to take advantage of modern technologies like machine learning to enable you to make better decisions based on your historical data.
What’s an interesting trend you’ve observed in the AEC industry?
For sure the Digital Twin is on top of the list, but I may also say Generative Design.
From your perspective, what does the AEC industry look like a year from now? Five years? Ten?
After One Year: Most of the AEC project phases will be cloud-based, and stakeholders will embrace digital collaboration. Most of the services and facilities equipment will be IoT ready. After Five Years: Most of the new buildings will be ready for their digital twin. Authorities and municipalities will be able to control and inspect buildings remotely. After Ten Years: Computers based on AI and ML will be able to create and enhance the design of projects based on the data gathered from a wide spectrum of digital twins.
So much knowledge in the AEC industry is experience-based. What do you think are the best ways to share knowledge?
I would say, in the first place, blogging. Blogs are the best environment to document your experience and let others reach out to it. Next, I would say forums as they give the chance to learn by asking and answering, but what bothers me about forums is that sometimes the question may not be phrased properly or not clear enough so others find it difficult to answer, plus sometimes when the answers thread get longer, this let the original subject divert to a different topic. Recording videos for different online media platforms like YouTube is also one of the best ways to share knowledge especially when it shows how to do something practical.
Now that you using AEC Industry Solutions, what’s the #1 thing you’re able to do that you weren’t before?
Project information exchange in a consistent way.
You have been an Autodesk Expert Elite for a while now. What does being an Autodesk Expert Elite mean to you?
That means a lot to me as I feel I’m a member of a family that cares for others, gives technical arms of help, develops their industry and thinks in a positive creative way, which all give me the motivation to develop myself more and put a lot of responsibility on my shoulders to be more active and responsive to our community.
From your perspective, what is the role of the Community in the AEC industry?
Share knowledge, recognize obstacles, challenges and bottlenecks, and try to suggest solutions based on modern technologies or think in an innovative way to find a new one.
Visit Mustafa’s Autodesk Community profile
If you’d like to share your story, get in touch at aec.community@autodesk.com