Integration of BIM in architecture and structural engineering education through common projects

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is one of the most significant developments in architecture and civil engineering in recent years, therefore it becomes increasingly important to promote its integration into university education. Currently, several universities worldwide offer BIM courses in architecture and civil engineering programs, while many others are under the process of integrating BIM into their curricula. The goal of this research is the implementation of BIM into higher education (Széchenyi István University, Hungary) by integrating the architectural, structural, and mechanical engineering disciplines. An important advantage of the university is that the architecture and civil engineering programs belong to the same faculty, which allows students to work together on common projects. A new course was performed in the previous semester, in which the students are designing contemporary buildings as case studies. In this paper, the results of the integration process are presented and evaluated based on the trainers’ and students’ experiences.