To BIM or not to BIM: A pilot study on University of Malaya’s architectural students’ software preference

Abstract

In recent years, Building Information Modelling (BIM) has received enormous attention from the
Architectural, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry around the globe. In 2014, the first
Malaysia‟s international BIM day was held at Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) Kuala Lumpur that
marked the largest awareness event to highlight the nationwide BIM adoption and
implementationpromotion campaign on this new technology. To ensure the success in the
implementation, it isimportant for future architectural graduates to be equipped with the operational
skill of thesoftware.This, in turn, requires architecture schools in Malaysia to consider adjusting
theircurriculums, and syllabus in preparing their students for the demand of the AEC industry.
Thisstudy aims to explore and understand the architectural students‟ perception towards
theadvantage of using BIM software in their design studio projects. An exploratory study has been
conducted through a survey among 84 respondents in 3rd, 4th and 5th year of the
architectureprogram at the University of Malaya (UM). The result indicates that both AutoCAD and
SketchUp are the most commonly used software in both education and practice. In contrast, BIM
softwareis found to be less commonly used by the students. This BIMsoftware however does receive
positive feedback from the students for its benefits. This could indicate a prospect to embrace BIM
technology into UM‟s architectural syllabus.

Keywords: Architectural Education, BIM, 3D software, Design Studio