Article 2016

Practical challenges of BIM education

Structural Survey
Journal · Vol. 34 · Issue 4-5 · pp. 351-366
Abstract

Purpose: Building Information Modelling (BIM) is becoming the new norm in the AEC industry and also part of many construction project management (CPM) programmes. The purpose of this paper is to address the difficulty and challenges in walking the narrow line between an industry-ready BIM and a BIM that is good for student learning and offers a realistic and practical, but simultaneously achievable, learning environment. Design/methodology/approach: An action research was conducted in an undergraduate CPM education setting. Findings: Key challenges encountered were availability of appropriate teaching and learning resources for BIM; finding the balance between theory and practice, technology and process, and traditional and emerging CPM methods; and facilitating staff’s professional development. Closer look was given to the teaching and learning resources for BIM. Theoretical resources that are available for education in the form of books, articles and websites are easy and straightforward to locate. Likewise, a good share of various tools are available for educational purposes. On the other hand, actual building models represent a challenge in terms of preparing and optimising usage of the model for high-quality educational purposes. Several different approaches for obtaining BIM resources were identified with various challenges and benefits. Originality/value: The results and recommendations will assist educators to better understand and overcome the practical challenges related to BIM education, especially those related to teaching and learning resources. © 2016, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Keywords

Author Keywords

Curriculum development BIM models Building Information Modelling Construction project management Learning resources

Index Keywords

Teaching Curricula Information management Construction Education computing education Computer aided instruction Information theory Project management Curriculum development Building Information Modelling Architectural design Learning resource Bim models Construction project management
Author Affiliations
UNITEC Institute of Technology, Auckland, AUK, New Zealand
University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Funding & Acknowledgements
No funding information
References 10 References
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