Dr. Al-Mhdawi is a Senior Lecturer in Engineering Project Management at the School of Computing, Engineering, and Digital Technologies (SCEDT), Teesside University, UK. He earned his Ph.D. in Risk Management from the University of Southampton and has extensive experience integrating risk and safety management into core business processes across different industries (construction, manufacturing, mining, oil and gas, and space systems). He is currently the course leader for the MSc International Project Management programme. 

Dr. Al-Mhdawi’s research focuses on modelling risk behaviour, capturing the dependencies between risk factors, and examining the roles of digitalisation and sustainability in risk engineering. He has a particular interest in developing risk-based decision support systems for complex settings. Moreover, Dr. Al-Mhdawi is interested in hazard recognition, safety risk perception, safety compliance, safety culture parameters, and managing diversity in the construction workforce. Furthermore, his research involves developing hybrid assessment, prediction, and optimisation models using various quantitative methods such as Fuzzy Sets Theory, Artificial Neural Networks, Bayesian Networks, the Analytical Hierarchy Process, Structural Equation Modeling, and Structural Equation Modelling. He is ranked among the top 3.26% of scholars worldwide in Risk Management. His work has been published in a number of high-impact journals, including the ASCE Journal of Management in Engineering, Annals of Operations Research, Production Planning & Control, and Environmental Impact Assessment Review, among others. 

Dr. Al-Mhdawi is a member of the Association for Project Management, and the American Society of Safety Professionals.

External Research Collaborations

Dr. Al-Mhdawi is open to and welcomes collaborations with national and international industry experts and researchers. His latest project includes collaborating with Plastron UK Ltd to develop an agile compliance framework for the European Cooperation for Space Standardization (ECSS) and assessing the risks associated with poor compliance with ECSS. Furthermore, he is actively involved in collaborative projects with Trinity College Dublin, Southampton Centre for Advanced Project Management, and Southampton Centre for Risk Research, the University of Southampton, related to critical infrastructure risk management and risk behaviour modelling.

Funded Research Projects

I have secured multiple funded projects as Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator, with total funding exceeding £300,000. These include a €190,000 project funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop a CubeSat safety risk management platform; a £50,000 grant from the Association for Project Management (APM) investigating AI-driven digital transformation in project environments; and a set of projects funded by the American University of Sharjah focused on sustainable risk management in oil and gas construction. 

Current PhD Students

• Abdul Hadi  Al Samawi

  Lead Supervisor
  Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
  Project Title: Developing a Fire Risk Assessment Framework for Multi-purpose High-rise Buildings
  Status: Ongoing (Year 3)
  Duration: December 2023 – Present

• Wadhah Al Dhaheri

  Lead Supervisor
  Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
  Project Title: Impact of Artificial Intelligence Marketing (AIM) on Business Strategy and Customer Satisfaction in Online SMEs’ Businesses
  Status: Ongoing (Year 3)
  Duration: December 2023 – Present

• Farag Saad

  Second Supervisor
  Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
  Project Title: Developing a Best-Practice Framework for Artificial Intelligence (AI) Adoption in Airport Management in Developing Countries: Evidence from Libya
  Status: Ongoing (Year 2)
  Duration: October 2024 – Present

• Ghazal Shadlooye Chianeh

  Second Supervisor
  Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
  Project Title: Strategic Optimisation of Responses to Construction Risks in the UK Oil and Gas Sector: A Multi-criteria Decision-Making Framework Using Machine Learning
  Status: Ongoing (Year 2)
  Duration: December 2024 – Present

• Suman Saeed

  Second Supervisor
  Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
  Project Title: Generalised Ground Motion and Structural Modelling Using Bayesian Neural Networks
  Status: Ongoing (Year 2)
  Duration: December 2024 – Present

• Louise Thurzza Ellis

  Third Supervisor
  Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
  Project Title: BIM-Enabled Lean Construction Applied to Timber Construction for Social Housing
  Status: Ongoing (Year 4)
  Duration: October 2021 – Present

PhD Completions 

• Dr Mohamed Hamdy Hassouna Elseknidy

• Doctor of Philosophy – Teesside University
  Project Title: Developing a Sustainability-Driven Risk Management Framework for Green Building Projects in the United Kingdom
  Role: Supervisor

• Dr Mohamed Abdelwahab Mohamed

  Doctor of Philosophy – Teesside University
  Project Title: Generative Artificial Intelligence in Construction Risk Management for Sustainable Projects: Quantitative Analysis and Best Practices
  Role: Supervisor

• Dr Arismawan Arismawan

  Doctor of Philosophy – Teesside University
  Project Title: Logistic and Supply Chain Management for Disaster Preparedness and Post-disaster Emergency and Recovery
  Role: Supervisor

• Dr Jingyang Yan

  Doctor of Philosophy – University of Southampton
  Project Title: Sustainable Supply Chain Adoption: Social, Economic, and Environmental Factors Under Industry 4.0
  Role: Technical Advisor

   

Teaching 

• CEN4017 – Risk Management in Projects
• ENG4005 – Enterprising Leadership and Project Management
• ENG4011 – Engineering Research Project
• 2006ODL-N – Professional Engineering Management
• 1009ODL-N – Managing a Professional Engineering Project