Qatar University (QU), represented by its College of Engineering, has secured first place in the 2026 Digital Twin Contest, organized by Working Group 5.1 of the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) in Lecce, Italy.
The winning research project, titled “Digital Twin-Driven Event-Based Production Rescheduling with Deep Reinforcement Learning,” demonstrates how Digital Twin technology can be integrated with artificial intelligence (AI) to develop more efficient and responsive solutions for challenges in manufacturing systems.
Supervised by Professor Abdelaziz, the project explores how production schedules can be dynamically adjusted in response to unexpected events and disruptions. By using a Digital Twin to create a virtual representation of the production environment and Deep Reinforcement Learning to identify effective rescheduling strategies, the research aims to support faster and smarter decision-making in manufacturing.
The winning team brought together researchers and students from Qatar University and collaborators from France. The QU team included four students from the Computer Science and Engineering Department at the College of Engineering – Shamma Al Hajri, Alghalya Alyafei, Shaikha Alyafei, and Najd Abdulla Al-Turki – along with Research Assistant Ahmed Riahi and Dr. Abdelhak Belhi from Joaan Bin Jassim Academy for Defence Studies.
The French team included Houssem Ounissi and Prof. Khaled Benfriha from ENSAM ParisTech.
The international competition provided the students with an opportunity to showcase their research alongside researchers and professionals from different countries and disciplines. Their achievement highlights the growing role of interdisciplinary research in combining education, artificial intelligence and emerging industrial technologies to address real-world challenges.
The accomplishment also underscores the potential of student-led research at Qatar University to generate innovative industrial solutions and support Qatar’s transition toward a knowledge- and innovation-based economy.
