The Postgraduate Certificate in BIM Technologies is a one-year part-time re-skilling programme that addresses a significant market deficit for construction professionals by providing them with the ability to use BIM technologies in a multidisciplinary collaborative design and management process. It is open to professionally-qualified architects, engineers, surveyors, technologists, and construction managers and aims to upskill or facilitate a return to employment for individuals who are not yet experienced in the new construction paradigm of collaborative BIM. It also enables technicians in a variety of construction areas to adapt to new skill requirements and change career direction.
Digital construction practices are now mandated across the Irish Public sector for large projects, and it is expected that over the next 4 years, these requirements are expected to be extended to all projects. The Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (2021) highlights that changing technological and environmental factors, such as the increasing importance of BIM techniques, require additional upskilling and retraining to allow the sector to respond to these trends. The recent Digital Ireland Framework also calls for the construction sector to integrate digital technologies to address challenges, such as labour shortages and productivity while boosting construction output. This will be complicated to accomplish given that 26% of organisations as highlighted by the recent Solas Vacancy report, are finding difficulties sourcing BIM professionals. This programme targets these gaps by providing graduates of building and infrastructure design and construction-related programmes with a safe, educational setting to develop an ability to use BIM technologies for design, construction, and collaboration.
There is a strong focus within the programme on improving the construction sector's productivity through better multidisciplinary coordination, digital transformation, and through the application of Lean principles, including fully utilising people’s talents, skills, knowledge, and reducing waste. To ensure this the programme team consists of full-time academics and part-time lecturers who are industry practitioners and sit on recognised industry boards.
To ensure a truly multidisciplinary approach, students on initial entry will select one of three discipline-specific streams in Architecture, Mechanical & Electrical Engineering, and BIM in Surveying & Construction Management. Some of the market leadings software’s taught include Revit, Navisworks, Solibri, iConstruct, Dynamo, BIM 360, MagiCad, CostX, and Bentley Synchro. The streams are updated yearly to ensure the most relevant labour market skills are provided.
All students take the Lean & Digital Construction Collaboration module, where learners utilise and critique the technologies, workflows & standards required to enable collaborative digital construction methods. The global imperative of sustainability and the sectoral need to adopt Lean practices underpin the learning for this module. A fundamental part of this learning involves students working as part of a multidisciplinary team within a common data environment to realise a project underpinned by current ISO 19650 standards.
The course continues to engage with professional bodies, SCSI, EI, CIOB, who have all identified the shortage of skilled graduates in this area as an impediment to the sector's growth. Over 95% of our graduates have either gained relevant employment or have gained promotion within their respective organisations. The course has moved to an 85% / 15% blended learning format in favour of online which has helped to broaden the courses regional reach.
The course is accredited by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) which is a worldwide professional body that represents construction and property professionals who work within the built environment.
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