IntegratIng BIM Into ConstruCtIon ManageMent eduCatIon

Construction education needs to embrace the opportunities and overcome the challenges presented by Building Information Modeling (BIM) to remain current and relevant. Although a growing number of university architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) programs have begun to offer courses that include BIM content, few programs have strategies in place to fully integrate BIM across curriculum. This paper presents Colorado State Universityˇs (CSU) Construction Management Departmentˇs approach to promote BIM-enabled learning. Fundamental to this effort is balancing student and industry desires and faculty domain expertise, while leveraging industry support and guidance. This paper presents the authorsˇ development of exploratory teaching modules and preliminary research findings to better understand and evaluate the contribution of BIM to studentsˇ educational experiences. The role of BIM as both tool and method in education and industry is not yet fully understood. Industry leaders understand that BIM requires new working processes and are eager to leverage BIM in the education of their future employees. Our pilot program plans to include a course that focuses on the modeling aspects of BIM as a software tool, and currently focuses on the development of “BIM teaching modules” to demonstrate the power of BIM processes across construction management practices. These modules, being developed in collaboration with industry, highlight how BIM impacts best practices and core competencies in a range of applications, while not changing the underlying principles of construction. Through ongoing investigation and pilot implementation, the authors seek to understand and accommodate the imminent transformational shift in construction management education and evolve curriculum to facilitate better learning and understanding through the use of BIM.