GMIT and RPS awarded Best Academic Paper at the Construction IT Alliance (CITA) Conference

GMIT and the RPS Group have been awarded Best Academic Paper for “A Collaborative Academia-Industry Approach to Programme-Wide Implementation of Building Information Modelling (BIM) Processes using a Reciprocal Learning Framework” at the recent Construction IT Alliance biennial conference in Dublin.

This academic/industry collaboration between the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology and the RPS Group has resulted in the development of an industry orientated Higher Diploma in Engineering in BIM (Honours Level 8 on the National Framework of Qualifications).

The Higher Diploma in Engineering in BIM has been delivered to RPS staff on a pilot basis since 2013. This has enabled GMIT to test, further develop and measure progress of this programme on the delivery of large infrastructure and building projects in the UK and Ireland while working in a collaborative BIM environment. This programme has resulted in  RPS  offering professional services on projects in the UK and Europe resulting in the award of major highways, water and gas projects.

The winning paper charts the development and integration of BIM processes and learning requirements into the curriculum and research activities in the Department of Building and Civil Engineering at GMIT over the last number of years informed by a close collaboration with RPS.

This academic-industry partnership has enabled the development of a reciprocal learning framework where industry best practice, curriculum development and research activities have been coordinated and utilised to address the educational challenges posed by the interdisciplinary nature of BIM. This collaborative initiative comes at a time when the demand from industry is at its peak.

The authors of the paper are Mark Costello from RPS and Dr Mark Kelly, Jim O’Connor and Gerard Nicholson from GMIT.

This initiative was shortlisted for the 2014 Engineers Ireland Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Company of the Year and Excellence Awards with a submission titled “The RPS BIM Revolution”.

Through this collaborative initiative RPS have become the leading local employer of GMIT graduates from the Building & Civil Engineering Department.