Dr Vireen Limbachiya

Vireen is an Associate Professor in Civil Engineering and currently the Academic Director for Transnational Education at Birmingham City University. In this role, he provides academic and strategic leadership across BCU’s TNE partnerships in China, working with partner institutions, academic teams, and professional services to support high-quality provision, student success, progression, and sustainable partnership growth.

He has spent over a decade in higher education leading teams, driving innovation, and shaping strategy to enhance teaching, research, and student outcomes. His current responsibilities include supporting academic staff engaged in TNE delivery, strengthening academic governance and quality assurance, overseeing student experience and progression, and identifying opportunities for growth and innovation across BCU’s international partnerships.

Previously, he served as Deputy Head of College – Built Environment at Birmingham City University and Head of Civil and Building Services Engineering at London South Bank University. In these roles, he led diverse academic teams, developed international and industry partnerships, and supported new routes for growth through collaboration and degree apprenticeships.

Vireen is passionate about sustainability in construction and the application of AI in civil engineering. His PhD at Coventry University explored how concrete can be made more sustainable through the use of industrial by-products and demolition waste, while his recent work focuses on applying machine learning to predict material performance.

His academic leadership brings together internationalisation, partnership development, student progression, sustainability, and innovation, with a particular focus on strengthening BCU’s transnational education activity in China and creating meaningful progression opportunities between international partner provision and UK-based programmes.