As New Tool Lands on More Campuses, Students Seek 'A' in BIM
As industry acceptance of BIM grows, colleges and universities are trying to work it into their long-established architecture and engineering curricula, with mixed success. While BIM evangelists see great potential in teaching it to the next generation of engineers, architects and construction managers, many academics and professionals are not yet fully convinced of the still-evolving technology's value in a slim-margin construction world.
"BIM is really a cultural revolution for the construction industry," notes Willem Kymmell, a professor of construction management at California State University, Chico, and the author of a forthcoming book about BIM systems. "BIM has usually been seen as being for architects, but many of our students studying construction management are showing great interest in its applications in project scheduling."