DESIGN STUDENTS VIEWPOINT ON BIM: A PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT OF THE INDICATORS

Abstract. Building Information Modelling (BIM) has been the most popular Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) technology and information management approach for the last 5 years. The popularity of the approach not only comes from its role in enabling an efficient exchange of information and collaboration between the stakeholders of a construction project, but also is related with the benefits it has provided in detecting possible errors in the design phase, and providing means for the elimination of these errors as early as possible and thus minimizing the time and financial loss in the project. The training related to BIM is provided in the undergraduate and post-graduate levels, also with certification programs. The viewpoint of the students/trainees is closely related to their attitude towards BIM. The research explained in this paper aimed to identify the viewpoint of design school students on Building Information Modelling. The study started with a literature review on the foundational concepts regarding BIM. The second stage of the study included data collection with a questionnaire survey. Later this data is explored through descriptive statistics, and some foundational hypothesis on the impact of group differences on the BIM viewpoint were tested. The findings indicate that the viewpoint of design school students shows a positive tendency towards using and implementing BIM in real-life projects. Besides, the group differences (such as gender, level, department) do not appear to have an impact on the viewpoint.