Uncovering the future needs for subsurface infrastructure education: designing a roadmap and GPR training

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1 Dieuwertje ten Berg MSc

Universiteit van Twente & ROC van Twente 5/28/2021

Uncovering the future needs for

subsurface infrastructure education:

designing a roadmap and GPR training

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Information page

PDEng Candidate

Author Dieuwertje ten Berg MSc

Organisation

University University of Twente

Faculty Engineering Technology (ET)

Department Construction Management & Engineering (CME)

Trajectory Civil Engineering

Case study organisation ROC van Twente

Support companies Liander, Gasunie, MapXact

Examination committee

Director PDEng programme Dr. Ir. S.R. Miller Professor responsible chair Prof. dr. ir. A.G. Dorée Supervisor at University of Twente Dr. ir. L.L. olde Scholtenhuis Supervisor at ROC van Twente E. Gruppen

External expert Dr. M.D. Endedijk

Report

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Preface

What do you put in the last written, but first read, section? I don’t really have a clue at this point, so we’ll see where it goes, let’s start.

This PDEng has definitely been a process. A process in which I’ve learned an awful lot, sometimes maybe even more than I was comfortable with. But growth only takes place at the limit of your comfort zone, and this project took me very much out of my comfort zone - and I’m thankful for that, and I’m very thankful to all the people who surrounded me during this process. I’m going to start with Eddy, whose favourite line must be ‘Maak van je hart geen moordkuil’: Eddy, you have no idea how much impact those six words have had but, trust me, I’m going to keep them in mind. Léon, thanks for being my daily supervisor, for the always open office door, but mostly for the trust you had in me, thank you. André, I think I only ever fully understood half of what you said, and there are probably some standard things I’m supposed to say, but I’m going to leave it with this: thank you for creating a diverse, safe, open and trusting workspace that enables people to grow.

For the other PDEngs and PhDs with whom I shared the office, thank you all. First in the aquarium, later on the second floor, you all made this time a wonderful and great experience. From the serious conversations to people being annoyed by others typing too loudly, to the laughter and drinks we had, it was never boring. So, in no particular order, Priya, it was wonderful to get to know you, thank you for the moments of laughter and the serious conversations. Bart, for the walks, cups of coffee and tea; Ramon, for being my neighbour for two years; Paulina, for always being helpful and a very nice, genuine person; Ruth, for being happy and bubbly and, of course, Franziska and Monik, I’m happy to have gotten to know you both.

Then, Yolanda and Jacqueline, the wonderful secretaries of the department, thank you for the practical support, the moments of distraction, the small and not so small chats.

Lastly, of course, a thank you to all the people from the companies that helped me during this project. There are too many names to mention everybody individually but thank you all for letting me steal your knowledge of subsurface utilities and the GPR. For taking this girl with an educational science background down into the world of subsurface utilities. It’s an amazingly beautiful sector that is both so complex and so straightforward at the same time. Before this project, I had never given it a thought, but now I can never again walk past a test trench without looking in it.

I’m proud of the document before you, of the products I designed and how I managed to complete the (post)master subjects in civil engineering in the education component of my PDEng. Despite having no previous experience with any form of civil engineering, infrastructure or utilities, I did manage to become a valuable addition to the various project groups. That I managed to make myself at home in a completely new sector, despite the wobbles and all, has stood me on firm ground.

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Graphical summary

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Management summary

Trends and developments inevitably force industry and business to change. This PDEng focused on the subsurface utility sector, which will have to comply with the revised law on information exchange for aboveground and subsurface infrastructure (WIBON). To comply with the changing law, the precise positioning of both main and house service utility lines must be digitally registered. This has caused operators to initiate activities to map and register the subsurface infrastructure. When speaking to contractors, developers, scientists and governmental parties, it becomes clear that further changes, besides the WIBON law, are expected. Other trends mentioned that are influencing the utility sector include the improved practicality of ground-penetrating radar, the use of Building Information Modelling and the energy transition. Companies are directly influenced by these developments and have to develop strategies to adjust to them. This includes changes in the competences that their employees require. As a result, vocational education needs to also incorporate these technical and societal developments to be able to teach the necessary competences to their students.

Throughout this PDEng project, I have explored the field of subsurface infrastructure from the perspective of vocational education through various activities which are laid out in Table 1. These activities have provided insight into two main aspects. First, the ROC van Twente has a macro-level need for an overview of future developments in the subsurface infrastructure and how they will influence education. Second, the utility sector needs to comply with WIBON and thus train future utility mappers. A technical development that is seen as a promising solution for utility mapping is the ground-penetrating radar (GPR). To address these needs, I have developed two solutions to make subsurface utility education more robust and future proof.

Vocational education is not the only sector charged with staying up-to-date with developments. Businesses, and especially ICT, must deal proactively with rapid innovations to gain a competitive advantage. A method widely used to enable them to incorporate continuous innovations into their business strategies is roadmapping. A roadmap is a visual representation that enables future changes of a product or field to be imagined, explored and mapped on a timeline.

Roadmapping can also be used to help the ROC van Twente more proactively integrate developing technologies into their curriculum. In other words, it could increase anticipation and the speed of incorporation of technical innovations into education. This would fit with the purpose of vocational education: to deliver education that prepares students for their future professions.

On this basis, the aim of this project was to use roadmapping to create a macro-level overview of the developments in the industry. The immediate need of the sector, to map underground infrastructure based on the WIBON law, is stressed as a goal in this roadmap. This leads to the second goal of this project, namely, the development of training on the use of ground-penetrating radar by professionals in the subsurface infrastructure sector.

This report describes the steps that were taken to develop the final PDEng products. The final products consist, firstly, of the roadmap ‘mbo-onderwijs Ondergrondse Infrastructuur’ and, secondly, a GPR training programme to address one of the most urgent developments in the roadmap.

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7 Table 1. Overview of activities undertaken during the PDEng project from November 2016 to October 2018.

Activity Description Lesson learnt Influence on design or process KLO conference

(2 November 2016)

Representing ZoARG at a stand during the conference. Participating

in workshops.

The conference was a crash-course introduction to the utility field. It showed me, when starting my project, what

the key topics were, what practitioners were interested in

and allowed me to meet people in the field.

Helped determine the function and goal of the

GPR training.

Introduction meetings (first 6 months)

Meetings with seven companies and organisations (e.g. Bouwend Nederland, Gasunie, GTfrontline, Liander, Siers, Stichting

arbeidsmarkt GEO).

Meeting with people from different companies and organisations allowed me to gain an understanding of the problem of excavation damage, what the wishes and needs are,

and what actions are being undertaken.

Meeting people needed to gain field experience and helped validate the design.

Work field experience

(February 2017)

Going into the field for four days with teams

working with GPR (Liander & Voskuilen

Woudenberg)

Going into the field with people who work with GPR and utilities daily taught me how to

work with the GPR, and showed the reality of excavation damage problem

and utility registration problems.

Helped formulate the learning goals for the GPR

training. SBB work sessions surveyor (first half of 2017) Participating in three meetings discussing the

future of the surveyor educational programme.

Participating in the meetings gave insight into the problem of having very few interested students. Enabled me to meet

people from different vocational schools with an attitude towards change and

renewal.

Structure of the educational system and

how to structure the training to fit into the

minor system. Evaluation meetings (21 July & 4 October 2017) Three meetings to evaluate the e-learning

prototype with practitioners.

Evaluating the e-learning on content, language use, and the

setup of the training days including exercises and locations. Gave insight into the

requirements for assignments and locations to practice

working with the GPR.

Changes in content and language of the training

and formulation of recommendations for the

training site. ZoARG symposium (19 October 2017) Participated in organising the symposium and giving a

workshop for participants.

During the ZoARG symposium, I gave a workshop and collected

information on topics they considered important for education. This served as

preparation for the roadmapping workshop.

Participants for the roadmap workshop were

selected from the participants of the symposium. Workshop for Bouwend Nederland (2 February 2018)

Giving a workshop for Bouwend Nederland on technical developments

in the utility sector.

Giving the workshop gave more insight into how excavators and contractors working in the field look at innovations, their wishes and

ideas.

Translating scientific language and ideas so as to

be understandable for all levels, determining the

language level for the roadmap.

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8 Workshop teacher education day (22 March 2018) Giving a workshop on technical developments

in the utility field for teachers from vocational

education schools.

Giving the workshop to teachers from schools all over

the Netherlands provided information on teachers’ attitudes towards future changes and the challenges

they see.

Concrete examples of projects and companies

pioneering the developments in the guiding document of the

roadmap. Roadmapping workshop (16 May 2018) Meeting with practitioners to discovers important topics and future trends in the field of subsurface

utilities.

The participants helped me gather the information needed

to develop the roadmap and they participated in evaluating

the roadmap.

Content of the roadmap and validation of the

roadmap. Literature studies (ongoing throughout the project) Included studies on roadmaps, ground-penetrating radar, excavation damage, motivational strategies, educational design.

Increased knowledge on the topics that helped make sound

decisions in the process and product.

Includes but not limited to the use of motivational strategies, technical GPR knowledge in the training and roadmap visualization.

UK visit (24&25 September

2018)

Visit the University of Birmingham and CSTA-SU utility surveyor

training academy.

Increased knowledge of the training system in the UK. Validation of GPR training from

the UK training academy.

Addition of work portfolio during the non-classical

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Product summary

During this PDEng project, I designed two products: (1) the ‘subsurface infrastructure’ roadmap (from now on referred to as the roadmap) and (2) GPR training. Product 1, the roadmap, consists of the visual roadmap plus a document to explain the roadmap in more detail. In Chapter 3, the design process of the roadmap is described. The roadmap can be found in Section 3.3.2 and Appendix II, and the explanatory document can be found in Appendix III. Product 2 is the GPR training material, which consists of e-learning and a manual in which the learning goals and training structure are described. Section 4.2 includes a description of the training with screenshots of the e-learning, and the training manual is attached in Appendix IV.

The University of Twente focuses on four main aspects for a PDEng product design: (1) construction; (2) functionality; (3) realisation; and (4) impact. The definition of these aspects will vary depending on the specifics of the PDEng project and, therefore, in this summary, the definitions for this specific project are provided. Furthermore, I elaborate on how these aspects are met in the delivered products.

Construction

The product's construction is looked at in terms of three different aspects: structure, originality and validation. For this specific PDEng project these are defined as follows:

• Structure: what are the major components of the products and how do they relate to each other?

• Originality: how new and original are the roadmap and the GRP training? • Validation: how can the products be validated?

This PDEng has two final products. First, the roadmap, which has two components: (1) the visual roadmap and (2) the documentation translating the innovations into learning outcomes. One of the innovations in the roadmap is the ground-penetrating radar (GPR). Since the societal need for the GPR is high, in order to satisfy the required reduction in excavation damage, the decision was made to develop an education plan and e-learning on how to use the GPR to prevent damage during excavation. The education plan contains information for the teacher such as learning goals and a lesson plan with which to follow the e-learning.

In terms of the originality of the design, the roadmap and the GPR training are both unique. The literature research failed to unearth any sound roadmapping method for an educational setting. Technology roadmapping has for decades been used in the technical sector to strategically plan future product development. Since this method is widely used and considered successful in many industries, it was adapted to the education sector during this project. The proposed GPR training is also unique in the Netherlands. While there is a utility surveyor education programme in the UK that complies with UK regulations, the regulations in the Netherlands are very different, in part because the UK lacks a registration system like the Dutch KLIC. In the UK, an investigation is required to identify all the utilities in an entire excavation area. Since the Netherlands requires services to be recorded in the KLIC system and test trenches to be dug, the GPR serves in part to confirm information rather than as the only source of information in the UK. Given this significant difference, the GPR training is focused on the Dutch situation and regulations, making it unique.

Both the roadmap and the GPR training have been validated by experts from the utility sector. For the validation of the roadmap, two questions were asked: 1) does the roadmap represent the expected developments in the utility sector? and 2) do the described learning outcomes match the

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10 expected developments? For validating the roadmap, the expert group consisted of people from all aspects of the sector, from registration to contractors and ICT. In their opinion, the roadmap and learning outcomes were a realistic representation of the expected future of the utility sector. For the GPR training, we wanted to confirm that the training had the correct information and level for the envisioned users. Here, the expert group consisted of pioneers working with GPR in practice. The prototype training was validated as delivering the required knowledge, with the mention that some additions could be elaborated upon, which are described in this report. Furthermore, the GPR training was compared to the UK utility training. Although the regulations in the UK are very different, the technical use of the GPR is similar. The competences concerning the technical use of the GPR imparted in the UK and in the training developed in this project were similar thus further validating the GPR training.

Functionality

The functionality of the products is described in terms of the satisfaction with, ease of use and reusability of the products. For this specific PDEng, these aspects are defined as follows:

• Satisfaction: will the products solve the questions posed by the ROC van Twente? • Ease of use: how easy are the products to use?

• Reusability: to what extent can the products be reused?

The main question for the ROC van Twente was how they could futureproof their education on subsurface infrastructure. In response, we developed the roadmapping method to predict the needed knowledge in the near future and translated this into learning goals. In this way, the ROC van Twente can work directly towards a new education programme and apply the roadmapping method themselves. To increase the ease of use of the roadmap for the teachers, the roadmap is accompanied by a document explaining the developments in more detail. Examples of pioneers in the innovations are provided so that teachers have a starting point for developing new education courses. The roadmap itself has a timeline of roughly 20 years but this is no more than an educated guess, and the roadmap will need to be revised. To ensure reusability, the process of roadmapping is documented so that the roadmap can be updated by the ROC van Twente on their own.

To satisfy the need to produce employees who can work with the GPR, a training programme is developed. The ROC van Twente can start to provide this training and teach current and future employees how to work with GPR to prevent excavation damage. To increase ease of use, the GPR training consists not only of e-learning but also documentation on a lesson plan, learning goals and a training plan. Furthermore, the training is designed to fit into the existing structure of minors within the educational system. Finally, we developed the e-learning within GRAASP, a free, user-friendly tool for which the teachers received one-day’s training on how to use it. The GPR training can continue to be used until either the regulations or the GPR itself changes in such a way that the training requires updating. The e-learning component has been designed such that ROC van Twente can update and change it without external input.

Realisability

The realisability of a product is determined by its ease of realisation and the resources necessary. For this specific PDEng, these aspects are defined as follows:

• Ease of realisation: can the client realise the product easily? • Resources: what resources are needed to realise the product?

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11 To ensure the client is able to implement the products, one must take the ease of realisation and the resources necessary into account during the design process. For the roadmap, this meant that we provided a guide for the roadmapping process and a translation of the roadmap into educational components. In the roadmap process guide, we explained how the ROC van Twente can implement the roadmapping process, from start to finish, in its educational system. For each of the innovations in the roadmap, we explained the innovation and translated this into learning goals. To ease the development of new educational programmes, resources where they could find more information and details of pioneers were also provided. For the GPR innovation, training was developed. The e-learning was developed using a free online platform (GRAASP), and the teachers all received one day of training in which they learnt how to work within the GRAASP environment. A further resource that will be necessary for the GPR training is a training location. There have been conversations with the UT over this, but nothing has been formally decided.

Impact

Three different aspects of the impact of a product should be measured: the societal impact, its sustainability, and the risks. For this specific PDEng project these are defined as follows:

• Societal impact: how do the products influence society? • Sustainability: how sustainable are the products? • Risks: what risks are associated with the products?

The products designed in this PDEng will influence society by impacting on education. The products will influence education by enabling vocational education schools to integrate subsurface infrastructure as a topic in their curricula. New knowledge and skills will be taught because of the roadmap and GPR training, resulting in better qualified workers that can use utility mapping to comply with WIBON, and support the energy transition with better know-how on what lies below the ground.

In terms of the sustainability of the roadmap, it should be seen as an educated guess at future developments based on what professionals currently expect to happen. As such, it will always be subject to change, and the ROC van Twente should be on the lookout for changing expectations. To enable the ROC van Twente to update, or even produce a new roadmap, they have been provided with a detailed methodology on how to develop a roadmap for educational purposes, developed as part of this PDEng. As such, not only did they get the roadmap itself, but also the technique so that they can apply roadmapping themselves in the future. Regarding the sustainability of the GPR training, the GPR itself is still in development, especially the software used to interpret the underground, and therefore one should anticipate adjusting the training to keep it in line with technical developments. To help ensure the sustainability of the GPR training, the training material has been developed in an environment (GRAASP) that will enable the teachers of the ROC van Twente to further develop it themselves. To assist in this, the teachers have had one day of training on how to use GRAASP.

Turning to the risks associated with the products, the main risk is that, because both products are very new to the educational system and that teachers and support staff have no knowledge and experience with them yet, they will not see the added value. Given that teachers already have a busy job, implementing the roadmap and the GPR training might come very low on their list of priorities leading to the risk of the products not being used. The second risk is related to identifying a site for the GPR training. There have been conversations with the UT on using the campus as a training site, but nothing has been formally agreed. Having a site for the GPR training is crucial, so reaching a user agreement for the campus, or elsewhere, as a test site is critical for the execution of the GPR training.

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List of figures

Figure 1. Overview products delivered in the PDEng. ... 20

Figure 2. Overview of technology roadmapping processes Moehrle, Isenmann, and Phaal (2013). ... 21

Figure 3. Educational roadmapping framework ... 24

Figure 4. Empty workshop template ... 26

Figure 5. Workshop template including guiding questions. ... 26

Figure 6. Roadmap. ... 29

Figure 7 Vocational education system (Tetrix techniek opleidingen)... 34

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List of tables

Table 1. Overview of various activities during the PDEng project. ... 7

Table 2. Product overview. ... 17

Table 3. Chapter overview. ... 17

Table 4. Overview of differences between S-plan and T-plan workshop approaches ... 22

Table 5. Overview of workshop participants. ... 25

Table 6. Steps were taken in the development of the roadmap ... 27

Table 7. Learner analysis ... 35

Table 8. Learning goals and objectives ... 37

Table 9. Planning of GPR training. ... 53

Table 10. Implementation of attention strategies ... 55

Table 11. Implementation of relevance strategies. ... 57

Table 12. Implementation of confidence strategies. ... 58

Table 13. Implementation of satisfaction strategies. ... 59

Table 14. Feedback on content e-learning ... 60

Table 15. Feedback on language in e-learning... 60

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1. Background to the PDEng project

Reducing excavation damage to underground utilities has been on the national agenda since the introduction of the Underground Networks Information Exchange Act (WION) in 2008. Excavation damage must be reduced because of the social nuisance, financial damage and danger it creates for both the population and the environment (KLO, 2016). To reduce the number of occurrences of damage to utilities, the ‘Kabel- en Leidingoverleg’ (KLO) network was initiated. Specifically, the aim was to reduce the annual number of excavation damage incidents to less than 25,000 in 2018. In 2015, the total number of registered incidents was 32,858, which was already a 5.8% fall from 2014 (KLO, 2016).

In 2013, the telecommunication operator Reggefiber determined to professionalise utility construction and reduce the amount of excavation damage. Together with the University of Twente, Reggefiber started the Reduction of Damage to Utilities & Careful Excavation (ReDUCE) programme, in Dutch Zorgvuldige Aanleg & Reducatie Graafschade (ZoARG). ZoARG brings science and industry closer together by aiming to implement innovative solutions in this industry. ZoARG wants to increase the awareness of the excavation supply chain regarding careful excavation, and work together towards solutions to prevent damage. Since 2013, the number of partners has increased, one of them being the ROC van Twente.

The ROC van Twente is a vocational education institute, primarily educating students for specific professions. The professionalisation of new employees for the utility sector starts at the ROC van Twente. Both the ROC van Twente and ZoARG feel that the whole chain, from education to government, should be included in reducing excavation damage. The ROC van Twente is in a position to diffuse research and developments in utilities to the next generation of professionals who will work in the field. To successfully prepare students for their future professions, a vocational educational institute such as the ROC van Twente needs to know what developments and topics will become important for the utility sector. As elaborated below, this PDEng both (1) identifies future developments, and (2) elaborates one of these in particular.

1.1. Outline of this report

The following chapters present the design process that was followed to achieve the development of the two products: the ‘vocational education – subsurface infrastructure’ roadmap and the GPR training. Table 2 provides an overview of the designed products and Table 3 an overview of the chapters in this report, which are further elaborated below.

Chapter 2 elaborates on the problem analysis and places the PDEng project in the wider society. It will also define the questions and objectives and products that are involved in the project. Finally, this chapter will provide insights into the design methodology that is used during this PDEng project to develop the roadmap and GPR training.

Chapter 3 describes the development of product 1: the roadmap. The chapter starts with a literature review carried out to develop a roadmapping methodology for education. The roadmapping method is then described, followed by the results, i.e. the roadmap. The chapter ends by validating the roadmap.

Chapter 4 centres around product 2: the GPR training. The chapter starts with the method of analysing the learners, the learning environment and the task to be taught. Then, in the results, the developed learning is presented and the design choices explained. The chapter ends with validating the e-learning tool.

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17 Chapter 5 provides a discussion on the findings and elaborates on the impact of the project, discusses the design method used, the lessons learnt and offers recommendations for implementation. Chapter 6 presents brief conclusions to the overall project.

The tables below provides an overview of what can be found where. Table 2. Product overview.

Product Function Where to find it

Roadmap 1. Visual roadmap

2. Report giving in-depth information on each topic including learning goals

P. 28 Appendix III

GPR training 3. Online training on how to operate the GPR

4. Educational plan for GPR training

P. 38 or:

https://graasp.eu/s/pu419b Appendix IV

Table 3. Chapter overview.

Chapter Content Page

number.

Chapter 2 Problem analysis

Objectives and scope of the project

P18

Chapter 3 Roadmapping literature review

Roadmapping for education Roadmap design process

P21

Chapter 4 Analysis of the learning environment Design of the GPR training

P31

Chapter 5 Discussion P61

Chapter 6 Conclusions P61

Appendix I Data collection design process roadmap P64

Appendix II Roadmap P65

Appendix III Roadmap report P66

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2. Problem analysis

Vocational education institutes tend to be reactive to changes in the industry. That is, industry developments will only be implemented in educational programmes once they are fully developed and have become the new industry standard. This results in students being educated for a historic version of the industry, and not for the industry they will enter after graduating. This reactive approach hinders the professionalisation of the utility sector. Furthermore, the speed with which developments are introduced into practice is increasing with the digitalisation of society. In general, vocational education institutes find it difficult to anticipate these developments in industry in a proactive manner. An insight into the developments anticipated in the near future would help to start developing education for the industry that students will enter when they finish their study, thus to professionalise the industry.

One of the changes that made this problem rise to the surface was the renewal and extension of the Underground Networks Information Exchange Act (Wet informatie-uitwisseling ondergrondse netten – WION). This was introduced in the Netherlands to reduce excavation damage by improving information exchange and registration of subsurface infrastructure. However, initially, the amount of excavation damage remained high. It was seen that 48% of excavation damage incidents were related to house service lines (van de Kant, 2016), which were not covered by the WION. In 2016 a bill was therefore introduced to add house service lines to the law. In July 2018, the bill was passed and it has been active since January 2019. Utility owners were given to 1st_{January 2020 to register house service}

lines with dangerous content, such as gas. Electricity, water and sewage lines have to be registered before 1st_{January 2028 (de Vries, 2018).}

This registration process is proving quite a challenge for utility owners. One recent development that could help, and is seen as having a high potential to reduce excavation damage, is the ground-penetrating radar (GPR). GPR was originally used in the fields of geophysics and soil research. Since the GPR technology comes from geophysics, people with both the needed utility and GPR knowledge are very rare. If vocational education would have had a roadmap that showed the coming introduction of GPR, there would now be people educated to work with GPR to locate utilities. The introduction of the GPR could have been predicted since it has been one of the detection methods to locate utilities in the United Kingdom since 2014.

GPR is a non-destructive method that can be used to detect, in the case of utilities, pipes and cables without the need to disturb the surface. GPR could be used for three purposes. First, during preparation, it could be used to verify the utility data that is provided to minimise the chance of excavation damage. Second, it can be used after the laying of new utilities to register their precise location. Third, GPR can be used to locate and register the location of unknown utilities during maintenance work.

The introduction of GPR does not only help compliance with the law to minimise excavation damage, it also announces the further digitalisation of the utility sector. While mapping the learning environment as part of the context analysis for the GPR training (Section 4.1.1), it became clear that the curricula of civil engineering educational programmes have changed very little in past decades. Recently, a project was started to develop new minor programmes for infrastructure and asphalt education that will update the education courses with state-of-the-art knowledge and skills. Further, it was seen that land surveying education also needed upgrading since it had not changed significantly since 1995 and was facing a severe reduction in student numbers. The educational programme had become so small that there were even discussions about the future of the programme. During these meetings about digitalisation and innovations with the Stichting bedrijfs- en beroepsonderwijs – SBB,

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19 teachers and practice representatives, it became clear that their knowledge on innovations was limited. Vocational education institutes have good connections with small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and students do internships at the SMEs. However, SMEs tend not to be frontrunners when it comes to implementing new developments. SMEs simply do not have the financial means to invest in innovations that are not yet required by the market. This means that the students do not learn about new innovative methods but learn to work with already established methods during their internships. This results in an education that is more suitable for the past than for the future. To change this, the ROC van Twente wanted to take a more proactive approach in embedding new technologies and methods in their programmes, and they needed a method to enable them to get on top of forthcoming developments in the industry. When we looked at other sectors, especially electronics, that also have to deal with rapid innovations, we found a method called technology roadmapping that helps stay ahead of changes. We saw that roadmapping can help navigate through the digitalisation of the utility sector, revealing developments and competences. Although the ROC van Twente did not know how to develop an overview of the utility sector, and the competences that students would need to have in the future, they did feel the need to know this. This lead to the establishment of this PDEng project which focuses on the following questions presented below.

2.1. Problem objective and scope

The introduction of GPR to the ROC van Twente sparked a specific interest in the development of a training programme enabling people to use GPR to reduce excavation damage. However, they had a very limited overview of the role that GPR could play had in the field of utilities and the digitalisation of the utility sector. This led to the following questions being raised in this project:

1. How do organisations anticipate a rapidly changing future? 2. How can vocational education institutes anticipate the future?

3. What changes are expected in the future for the subsurface utility sector?

4. What new competences are employees expected to require for the developments in the utility sector?

5. What competences do workers need to use the GPR to prevent excavation damage?

The integration of the questions above resulted in three main objectives for the PDEng project: 1. Develop a roadmap for education, focused on the utility sector, including an overview of

accompanying competences.

2. Define the competences needed to work with GPR.

3. Develop a tool that can provide students and employees with the competences needed for GPR.

This report explains the design process that leads to the development of the two associated products: (1) the roadmap and (2) the GPR training. Figure 1 below shows the documents, products delivered and the relationships between the products and documents.

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20 Figure 1. Overview products delivered in the PDEng.

2.2. Design philosophy

Vocational educational programmes normally develop in reaction to developments in the related knowledge field. Therefore, the competence requirements for students are commonly only derived once work routines, processes and practices in a field have stabilised. With the uncertainties associated with an emerging field, eliciting a stable set of competences is not yet possible. To cope with this, an iterative and pragmatic design philosophy is used to develop an initial set of competences, which will then be defined in revision cycles. Generally, when following a pragmatic paradigm, products are quickly built, tested and revised, going through multiple revision cycles before the final product is delivered (Visscher-Voerman & Gustafson, 2004). However, in this design project, the approach adopted not only needs to improve the roadmap and GPR training but also help establish the content and competences required for the underground utility engineering domain.

Hence, the educational design approach (EDR) is used to guide the project. EDR is a systematic educational design method that focuses on intervention and process (Kopcha, Schmidt & McKenney, 2015). The goal of the EDR is two-fold, focusing both on generating a research-based solution for a complex educational setting and developing knowledge about the intervention and the design process (van den Akker, 2013). This is achieved by following an iterative process that continues until the desired product is reached.

Specifically, the choice was made to: 1) conceptually design the emerging study landscape for underground infrastructure education; and 2) develop a prototype for a specific emerging skillset in the underground utility engineering domain. This approach allowed us to identify the technologies, trends and stakeholders in the emerging field, and to use these to develop insight into the emerging underground utility engineering domain.

Design process

• Final report describing design process

• Visual roadmap • Document presenting: o Content explanation o Competences o Process of roadmapping GPR training • E-learning • Document presenting: o Learning goals o Training structure o Implementation advice Roadmap

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3. Product 1: Roadmap

This chapter presents the analysis, literature review, design and evaluation of the first product, the roadmap. First, I present the analysis that leads up to the decision to develop a roadmap. Second, I present an overview of roadmapping literature and propose how this technique can be applied to the the educational sector. From knowledge gained from the literature review, design requirements for the roadmap have been formulated, and the design and development process is elaborated upon. Finally, the roadmap is evaluated.

3.1. Literature review technology roadmapping

This section discusses technology roadmapping and offers an overview of roadmapping in education. Technology roadmapping can help an organisation strategically align technology development with its strategic and long-term business planning (Phaal, Farrukh & Probert, 2004). A technology roadmap is a structured, graphical representation that aligns technology with more commercial or management-related perspectives. This gives organisations the option to explore relationships between developing technologies, markets and products over time. Technology roadmaps can help with technology forecasting and evaluation within an organisation, potentially providing a competitive advantage (Moehrle et al., 2013).

Technology roadmapping as a method is used in various contexts, on different levels and within different management frames (Moehrle et al., 2013). Although technology roadmapping can be used in a variety of ways, the focus tends to be on technology planning and strategy development to prepare an organisation for the future (Kamtsiou, 2016; Phaal et al., 2004).

There are many ways to develop a roadmap and they vary in focus (exploratory vs. directed) and drivers (technology-driven vs. market-(technology-driven), see Figure 2. To select or adapt the most applicable roadmapping method for a given situation, the type of vision to be created must be kept in mind (Moehrle et al., 2013). Moehrle et al. (2013) stress that there is no universal ready-to-apply method for roadmapping due to the need to adapt and customise according to the circumstances. This implies that there are as many roadmap types and methods as there are roadmaps, and that it will be possible to create a roadmap for educational goals.

In the case of this PDEng, a roadmap has been developed for the vocational educational setting with the intention to increase understanding of the future of the utility sector and support the strategy of educational renewal. When looking, with education in mind at Figure 2, an educational roadmap will fit somewhere between exploratory and directed since the goal is not to follow a single innovation but to generate an image of the future. The roadmap must also be market-driven

in that the aim is to educate students for the needs of the future market. The goal of the roadmap is to help colleges understand that future market. Therefore, the method selected as the most appropriate is the ‘fast-start’ technology roadmapping process as its market focus will help to understand and incorporate future market needs. Furthermore, the fast-start method is not directed towards specific innovations or exploring different possible futures. So, overall, the fast-start method seems the most applicable for an educational setting.

Figure 2. Overview of technology roadmapping processes (Moehrle, Isenmann and Phaal, 2013).

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22 Fast-start is a rapid prototyping method that uses multi-organisational workshops to start the roadmapping process (Moehrle et al., 2013). The roadmapping process involves all the activities undertaken to create the roadmap, from planning and workshops through to the development of the visual roadmap. The start method was developed to be rapid, flexible and adjustable. The fast-start roadmapping process enables the participants of the workshop to use the visual structure of a roadmap to discuss, capture and explore the current state and the way forward. This allows them to visually depict milestones and identify gaps in knowledge or resources.

Within the fast-start method, there are two types of workshops namely the T-Plan and the S-Plan. The T-Plan workshop method focuses on product roadmapping and the S-Plan on strategy and policy roadmapping (Moehrle et al., 2013). Both workshop methods are similar in that they bring a diverse group of participants together to capture their perspectives, and to discuss and develop a preliminary roadmap. One could see it as the two workshop methods together cover the spectrum from product-directed (T-plan) to, a more exploratory, strategy-driven (S-plan), but result in slightly different processes.

In product-technology planning, the T-plan method results in a roadmap that connects product, technology and the market. The method typically involves four half-day workshops, the first three are used to identify and prioritise the market drivers, product features for those drivers and possible technological solutions. In the fourth workshop, the results of the three previous workshops are linked together to produce the first roadmap. The S-plan focuses more on identifying strategic options for innovation. During the associated workshop, the strategic landscape is captured, opportunities for innovation are identified and prioritised, and key enablers and barriers for each innovation opportunity are mapped. Finally, the participants agree upon which opportunities should be grasped and what actions must be undertaken and how. An overview of the main differences between the two approaches is shown in Table 4.

Table 4. Overview of the differences between T-plan and S-plan workshop approaches

T-plan S-plan

Goals Explore and plan product-based

innovation

Identify and explore strategic innovation opportunities Level Market Product Technology Business Corporate Sector Policy

Scope Product innovation strategy General strategic challenges

Method 4 half-day workshops 1 to 2 full-day workshops

Group size Medium (8-12) Large (15-25)

Roadmap development During the fourth workshop After the workshop

The fast-start roadmapping method is mostly used within technical, competitive, for-profit organisations. However, in this PDEng, we see a clear use for roadmapping in the educational sector, and especially in vocational education. The goal of vocational education is to prepare its participants for a certain job. Therefore, vocational education needs to keep up-to-date with changes in the industry. Unfortunately, this proves difficult because the development of new education course content is commonly a reactive response to technological and societal developments: the response always comes after the demand. Further, the process of developing a new education programme takes some time, usually at least two years, so newly developed education offerings always appear later

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23 than the industries need. Roadmapping could help vocational education providers strategise the development of new education offerings in parallel with the developments in the industry and society, thereby educating students for the future of tomorrow.

3.1.1. Roadmapping in education

In our mission to develop roadmapping for education, a literature review identified five studies1_that

used the word ‘roadmap’ or mentioned roadmapping techniques in the context of education. These are:

1. Software engineering education: a roadmap (Shaw, 2000).

2. From research and development to mobile learning: tools for education and training providers and their learners (Attewell, 2005).

3. Technology planning: a roadmap to successful technology integration in schools (Gülbahar, 2007)

4. Roadmapping for educational technology service: expanding educational and research capabilities at higher education institutions (Fleury, Plonski, Dahmer & Schwartz, 2010). 5. Case study in strategic roadmapping for university planning (Duderstadt, 2017).

A review of the above-mentioned papers showed that only two articles, Fleury et al. (2010) and Duderstadt (2017), used a roadmapping method based on the broader roadmapping literature. In the other articles, the word ‘roadmap’ or ‘roadmapping’ is used in a metaphorical sense. This is also visible in the associated roadmaps. For example, the roadmap of Attewell (2005) does not include a timeline, reducing its forecasting value. Although Gülbahar's (2007) roadmap does include a timeline, albeit only five years, questionnaires and interviews were used to collect the data for the roadmap. This excludes any interaction between the different stakeholders and therefore fails to create a shared vision. The article by Shaw (2000) does not include a roadmap or any information on the roadmapping process. These three articles are therefore seen as not relevant for developing a roadmapping framework for an educational setting.

Thus, there are shortcomings and gaps in the literature on roadmapping in education. In the articles by Fleury et al. and Duderstadt there are very few references to roadmapping, limiting the validity of their approaches. The key reference used by Duderstadt is also old, namely from 1997. Although, Fleury et al. and Duderstadt have both adjusted existing frameworks for roadmapping in education, no information is given on why, or how, the frameworks were adjusted. Additionally, the articles do not describe the process of roadmapping. Furthermore, the articles do not focus on developing new education offerings, but more on technologies to support education and the strategy of universities. Given these issues, the usability, reliability and validity of the roadmapping frameworks presented in the educational sector are low, the approaches used are based on limited and old literature and their repeatability is untested. On this basis, we concluded that a new roadmapping framework that could support the development of new education programmes needed to be created.

To conclude, a roadmapping framework to support the development of new education offerings is necessary because:

1_{A sixth study, ‘The Exploration of Teaching Model Combining Curriculum Design of Biochemical}

Engineering and Industry Technology Roadmapping’ (Zhang, Wang & Tian, 2015) was found but not included because it was only available in Chinese.

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24 • None of the roadmapping frameworks used previously in education is repeatable;

• Previous roadmaps focus on technology to support education, not education itself; • Previous roadmaps are insufficiently based on roadmapping literature and practices.

3.2. Method

This section describes the method adopted for the development of a roadmapping framework for an educational setting.

3.2.1. Educational roadmapping framework

Education presents a unique setting for roadmapping in the sense that the roadmapping process takes place across multiple sectors. The related industry is involved since information has to be extracted from it, which must then be implemented in the provided education. In general, a roadmapping process takes place either within one company or among multiple companies within a sector. To span both industry and education in the roadmapping process, we used multiple interactive workshops, inspired by the fast-start method. The complete framework is shown in Figure 3 and consists of two phases: the extraction of knowledge from industry and the implementation in education.

The initial workshop, to extract knowledge from the industry, followed the S-plan approach since it is largely explorative. The workshops within the educational sector followed the T-plan approach since all the topics were discussed on a more detailed level.

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25 The combined T- and S-plan approach consists of three steps: initiation (or preparation), development, and integration/implementation. In Phase 1, ‘Extraction from Industry’, we prepared and developed the industry roadmap, which should be integrated in Phase 2, ‘Implementation in Education’. Due to time constraints, I only executed Phase 1, with Phase 2 to be carried out by the ROC van Twente. Phase 2 involves several workshops. The first of these discusses the industry roadmap, identifies the gaps in education and creates a vision for the future. The following workshops should each focus on one theme from the industry roadmap. During these workshops, the themes should be discussed with the relevant teachers present. For example, how does the theme relate to other educational programmes or different education levels? During these workshops, a task force should be created, or someone should be made responsible for forming a task force. Each task force is then responsible for developing a plan of action for their theme. During follow-up meetings, the progress being made by the various task forces can be checked.

3.2.2. Workshop

This section elaborates on the method used for the roadmapping workshop during Phase 1. Four specifics are described: the workshop schedule, the participants, the template adopted, and the role of the workshop leader.

Schedule

The one-day workshop followed a schedule based on ‘Practice on Roadmapping’ (Miles, 2009). The day started with an introduction in which the goal of the day was presented, the topic was introduced, and the participants were asked to introduce themselves. The substantive part of the day was divided into four parts: (1) creating a vision; (2) establishing the status quo; (3) route to the vision; and (4) resources and competences needed to realise the vision. During the first two parts, the participants worked in groups of 3-4 people. Splitting into smaller groups helped reveal multiple possible visions, reducing the likelihood that any possibilities were overlooked. For the last two parts, the participants worked as one group to generate a single vision and one route to that vision. Before the third part, the participants had a break, after which we briefly recapped the earlier parts.

Participants

The participants provided a realistic representation of the overall industry to ensure that all viewpoints were gathered and represented in the roadmap. To address the subsurface infrastructure, this meant that stakeholders from research, engineering, government, network administrators and contractors should be included. The seven participants and the type of organisation they represented are detailed in Table 5.

Table 5. Overview of workshop participants

Organisation Type of organisation

BAM Infra Contractor

GoConnectit IT developer

GPKL Municipality representative

Kadaster Land registration

Liander Network administrator

Rijkswaterstaat Government executor

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Template

A template was given to the participants to guide their discussions and to ensure that the three timeframes and different aspects (why/what/how) were discussed. The basic template used is a generic roadmapping template designed by Phaal, and provided free for non-commercial uses by the University of Cambridge. The English template was converted to Dutch and the relevant timeframes inserted, see Figure 4. The participants were provided with an

empty A0-sized template and post-its to assemble their ideas. They were also given an A4 template indicating the specific questions to address in each part of the template, see Figure 5. This was intended to support and direct the participants’ discussions.

Figure 5. Workshop template including guiding questions.

Role workshop leader

The workshop leader was responsible for guiding the participants through the workshop. This meant keeping track of the schedule, answering questions, keeping the discussions on-topic, giving a recap halfway through and collecting the materials at the end. This meant that the workshop leader had to know the roadmapping process, about the subject matter, in this case sub-surface infrastructure, and on the education that it was being aimed at. Furthermore, the workshop leader had to understand that a workshop is a creative process, so that while they need to keep the discussion on-topic, some flexibility must be allowed to keep the process flowing. The workshop leader ensured that all the participants felt safe enough to share their opinions. In this instance, the workshop leader also

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27 compiled and validated the roadmap after the workshop was finished, which is described in the next section.

3.2.3. Roadmap development

During the roadmapping workshop, the participants added their ideas to the template, which amounted to the data collection step for the roadmap. Appendix 1 includes the raw data. After the workshop, I transformed the data into a roadmap. To guide this process, I followed the steps recommended in the book by Miles, (Miles, 2009). These seven steps are specially developed to create the strategic narrative of the roadmap and are described in Table 6.

Table 6. Steps were taken in the development of the roadmap

1. Capture key points Common themes were identified from the data, and items were grouped into relevant themes. This was discussed with the supervisor and colleagues to see if they were grouped logically or if things should be moved. After this step, we had ten identified themes.

2. Clarify key message The key message of the roadmap amounts to the specific topics and their learning goals with a relevant timeframe. 3. Clarify the purpose of the

roadmap

Using the decision tree, the purpose of the roadmap was determined as: ‘to depict sequential routes to future goals’ for multiple themes.

4. Clarify visual structure The visual structure helps the comprehensibility of the roadmap. In this instance, multiple themes will be presented parallel to each other, branching out into actions and goals. Each theme will be presented in a different colour.

5. Review visualisation There were many interdependencies and subthemes among the ten themes originally distinguished. Therefore, we formulated three overarching themes. These are topics that play a role not only in subsurface infrastructure but in the wider society. Specific concrete goals and actions for each theme related to subsurface infrastructure were identified.

6. Get feedback on the roadmap The roadmap and report were sent to the participants for feedback. The feedback and how it was implemented are described in Section 3.5.

7. Consider roadmap process learning points

The main learning point is that the process takes time and should not be rushed. In this instance, a large amount of information was gathered during the workshop, and initially there were doubts this would prove useful since it seemed very random and unfocused. However, systematically analysing the data and redrawing the roadmap multiple times helped gain an understanding of how all the different elements fitted into the roadmap. The software used to draw the roadmap should easily allow for changes.

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3.3. Results

In this section, we will describe the results of the literature review and the newly developed roadmapping method. First, the requirements formulated from the previously outlined steps are detailed and then the roadmap itself is shown and explained.

3.3.1. Requirements

Before we develop a roadmap, we need to specify the requirements that the roadmap needs to fulfil. Satisfying the requirements will ensure that the roadmap meets the needs of the users and they will also act as a guide throughout the development of the roadmap. Since there is no previous experience with roadmapping for education, we took the literature on roadmapping and the needs of the ROC van Twente as the starting points in establishing the requirements:

• The roadmap must cover three timespans: 0-5 years; 5-10 years; 20 years. Twenty years was selected as the longest time horizon because the utility sector is not that rapidly changing, and because the development of new education takes time. The ROC van Twente can immediately start with the most urgent goals and that will take them the next two years. After that, they will have roughly 3-5 years to develop the middle timespan, which also gives them time to update the roadmap and develop new education offers.

• The developments must be distinguished in terms of market drivers, product developments and the resources required. This will support teachers by informing them which parts of the sector need new education packages to be developed, and what knowledge and skills the students must learn to be able to work with the new products and resources.

• The graphical roadmap must be accompanied by a report in which each development is explained, including resources for innovative projects and the competences students need. • The report must contain information on the roadmapping method for education.

• Both the roadmap and the report must be written in Dutch, in non-scientific language, as requested by the ROC van Twente.

These requirements, together with the seven steps described in 3.2.3 lead to the prototype roadmap described below.

3.3.2. Prototype roadmap

This section describes the roadmap. The roadmap can be seen below in Figure 6 and also in Appendix II. In this section, the structure of the roadmap is explained. To improve clarity, red and purple squares have been added to separate the different sections in the roadmap. The squares are numbered and will be explained in numerical order.

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29 Figure 6. Roadmap.

1. The title of the roadmap.

2. The global themes that are important for the roadmap. These themes were mentioned during the workshop but were not specifically linked to only subsurface infrastructure or to a specific innovation or development. They do however influence the method of working and thinking in our society and, therefore, the subsurface infrastructure. As such, they are seen as applicable to all topics.

3. Section 3 covers the three main topics of the roadmap, each indicated individually by a, b and c. The topics are divided into developments (rounded shapes) and goals (hexagonal shapes) that are considered likely to occur over time. The topics are not completely separate from each other, and the links between goals, developments and topics are indicated with arrows. 4. The purple square indicates the timeframe. For each topic, developments and goals take place

in both short- and long-term timeframes. The three timeframes are indicated using three shades of blue, the darkest being the most distant.

Appendix III includes the documentation to explain the roadmap for the ROC van Twente. In the document, the three global themes are explained with the knowledge that students must acquire on them. The three main topics are discussed, and each development is explained with the knowledge that students should gain, and how it leads towards meeting the goals. Where possible, concrete examples of innovative projects or companies are provided to give the teachers a starting point for creating educational material. The document also contains a section on the roadmapping method so that the ROC van Twente can continue to apply the roadmapping technique.

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3.4. Validation

Once the roadmap was designed, it needed to be validated. The purpose of the validation was to check whether the content of the roadmap was correct and complete. The validation was achieved by sending the roadmap and the accompanying report to the participants of the roadmapping workshop. The participants were asked if they thought it was a complete and correct representation of the workshop, and the future as they see it, and invited them to add elements that, in their opinion, were missing. The validation outcomes were as follows.

One of the participants of the workshop gave feedback on the roadmap and on the report. The feedback mentioned one topic that might be missing, which was also not discussed during the workshop, namely the introduction of 5G. Therefore, additional research was done into the introduction of 5G and the possible consequences for subsurface utilities. The main difference between 5G and previous standards is that 5G has a lower frequency signal. A lower frequency signal has a more limited range than higher frequency signals and, therefore, more access points are needed to ensure coverage. The access points will have a cable connection to the internet, resulting in more fibre optic cables being laid below the surface. The main consequence for the subsurface layer is the increase in fibre optic cables and thus an even higher usage of the underground space. However, this is not considered a new factor since the general understanding is already that the space available will become increasingly scarce. Thus, the decision was made that 5G will be mentioned in the report with the roadmap as one of the elements that will increase the pressure on the available space, but not as a separate theme in the visual roadmap.

The participant made four other comments. The first comment was that the roadmap refers to hydrogen pipe networks, but these might also transport biogas or green gas. A note to this effect was added to the corresponding section in the report. The second comment concerned the trend towards modular and decentralised design and integrating surface and subsurface works in one design, and whether these developments would invalidate our roadmap. We did not consider this required a change to the roadmap since a modular design can entail both above and below the surface works. Nevertheless, the point was clarified in the report to avoid confusion. The third comment was an addition to one of the learning goals, which was seen as an oversight and has now been added to the learning goals. The final comment concerned the change in the acronym for the relevant law (from WION to WIBON) that occurred during the development of the roadmap and has now been updated in the report.

3.4.1. Verification of requirements

Requirements were formulated for the roadmap. The list below gives an overview of the requirements and how they are fulfilled in the product.

1. The roadmap must include three-time horizons: high urgency (0-5 years); medium-term

(goals for 5-10 years); and long term (goals 20 years). The roadmap does indeed include these

three-time horizons.

2. The roadmap must address three layers (market trend; product; resources). The roadmap does contain these layers, albeit under other names. The market trend layer is labelled ‘overarching themes’ and shows the most important trends in the sector. The product layer includes the three specific subjects of development: excavation damage; no-dig methods; and energy transition. The resource layer is shown by the diamond shapes, which show the steps necessary to reach the goals (in the rounded shapes).

3. The schematic roadmap must be accompanied by a report in which each development is

explained, including resources for innovative projects and the competences students need.

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31 to more information and projects or innovations, and lists the competences that the students should acquire. Validation has been provided by the ROC van Twente that the information and competences are understandable and usable in further developing the roadmap.

4. The report must contain information on the method for roadmapping in education. The report contains a how-to on the roadmap method used, and instructions on how to implement the roadmap. The ROC van Twente has validated the method as clear and that the instructions are suitable for their intended use.

5. Both the roadmap and the report must be written in Dutch using non-scientific language. The ROC van Twente has confirmed that the language used complies with their needs.

Uncovering the future needs for subsurface infrastructure education: designing a roadmap and GPR training