Yu, J.; Ma, J.; Wang, B. and Wang, J. (2026) Public opinions on intelligent construction programs in China: Evidence from social media. Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, pp. 1-23. ISSN 1726-0531
Abstract
Purpose – With the digital transformation of the construction industry and the advancement of China's Emerging Engineering Education initiatives, more than 200 Chinese universities have launched intelligent construction programs. However, a gap remains between talent cultivation and industry demands, and the lack of public opinions makes it challenging for educators to advance intelligent construction programs. This study aims to explore public opinions on intelligent construction programs and find out the key factors behind them. Design/methodology/approach – This study used the bidirectional encoder representations from transformers-based natural language processing model to conduct topic clustering on social media posts and sentiment analysis on comments related to intelligent construction programs. Findings – The topic clustering of posts revealed four main themes, including the intelligent construction industry, intelligent construction programs, intelligent construction technologies and intelligent construction scenarios. Sentiment analysis indicated that the prevailing public sentiment shifted from positive to negative in 2022. Further analysis identified three topics on online comments: employment and career, program curricula and intelligent construction technologies. While the majority of public attitudes toward intelligent construction technologies remained positive, significant dissatisfaction was expressed regarding program curricula and employment prospects. Based on these findings, several suggestions are proposed to help educators advance their programs for intelligent construction education. Originality/value – This study provides public-perspective insights into intelligent construction and civil engineering education research, contributing to fostering future engineers capable of responding to the digital transformation of the construction industry.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | civil engineering education; intelligent construction program; public opinions; sentiment analysis; topic clustering |
| Index terms: | employment, social media, methodology, engineering education, program, engineer, career, transformation, construction technology, clustering, evidence, construction industry, construction education, China |
| Subjects: | digital engineering, profession, software systems, business, industry analysis, research methods, management, technology adoption, professional education, data science, Geography, evaluation and assessment methods, professional development |
| Topics: | Information Management, Research Practice, Business Strategy, Digital Applications, Human Resources, Geographical Context, Roles and Professions, Education |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here