GMIT and RPS collaboration wins 'Excellence in Education and Training' award in National HR Leadership and Management Awards 2018

The GMIT Department of Building & Civil Engineering and RPS were delighted to win the ‘Excellence in Education and Training’ Award at the 2018 Human Resource Leadership and Management Awards, held in Dublin recently. This award recognizes the close academic-industry collaboration between GMIT and RPS which has evolved over the past five years, resulting in the development of a Higher Diploma (Level 8) in Engineering in Building Information Modelling (BIM) which is being delivered by GMIT to a wide range of industry stakeholders using an innovative educational outreach approach.

The aim of the programme is to assist the construction sector in reviewing their business models and practices to facilitate a move towards more collaborative approaches to identify cost reduction and innovation opportunities within the supply chain to provide better value for money, explains Dr Mark Kelly, lecturer and research supervisor, GMIT Dept of Building & Civil Engineering.

The recent publication of the ‘Roadmap to Digital Transition for the Irish Construction Industry 2018-2021’ (December 2017) by the Irish National BIM Council, and Government’s commitment last November to using BIM in the design, construction and operation of public buildings in Ireland over the next four years, has provided a clear mandate for the Irish construction sector. These commitments will also present several challenges in relation to organisational culture, education, training and information management in a sector that has traditionally employed a fragmentary and project-specific approach involving multiple stakeholders.

BIM is now an integral part of the design process for the delivery of large building and infrastructural projects in RPS. To date, over 80 RPS staff have been upskilled on this multi-award winning programme since 2013 which has allowed them to remain at the forefront of their industry. This has informed a reorientation of working practices, which has led to RPS been awarded the ‘BIM Level 2 Business Systems Certification’ by BRE Global in 2015. This innovative approach to education and training is facilitating Irish design team participation and leadership in major infrastructure projects in the UK and Europe. The Director for BIM RPS,

Mark Costello, BIM, RPS, who was awarded BRE Academy Fellowship in 2017, expressed his delight at winning the award. “Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) has been instrumental in providing the innovative approach to education and training required to deliver projects in a collaborative (Level 2) BIM environment in Ireland and the UK.” he says.

The GMIT-RPS collaboration in partnership with other industry stakeholders has also led to the establishment of the BIM Western Region, which has provided a supplementary educational forum for industry stakeholders and students; 16 guest speakers addressed BIM challenges and opportunities at four seminars hosted in GMIT since September 2015. BIM has also featured prominently as a key theme in GMIT’s Annual International Construction Management Conference over the past number of years with the most recent (March 2018) workshop focusing on BIM for lean construction, 4D construction sequencing, and 5D costing with BIM.

Mary Rogers, Head of Department of Building and Civil Engineering in GMIT praised the collaborative efforts:
“The Department of Building and Civil Engineering at GMIT has partnered with RPS on a number of research-informed projects for the construction industry over recent years. The Higher Diploma in Engineering in Building Information Modelling programme was designed through this close symbiotic alliance to meet the demand for implementing innovative processes and technologies to keep pace with a changing construction sector, both in Ireland and internationally.”

Jim O’Connor, BIM Programme Coordinator at GMIT, also expressed his delight at receiving the award: “We are delighted with this award in recognition of our work. Our close partnership with RPS and other industry stakeholders has enabled GMIT to become one of the leading providers of BIM education to industry in Ireland.”

Launched in 2015, the HR Leadership & Management Awards are vital to promote HR, as they allow innovation and achievement to shine. Other winners on the night included Google, Lidl, Beaumont Hospital, Dalata Hotel Group and Bank of Ireland.

For further details on the Higher Diploma in Engineering in BIM, please contact:
Mr. Gerard Nicholson at Gerard.Nicholson@gmit.ie or
https://www.gmit.ie/building-civil-engineering/higher-diploma-engineering-building-information-modelling-part-time

For further information on the BIM Western Hub
https://westernbimhubireland.com/about/

For further information on the GMIT International Construction Management Conference, please contact Mr. Martin Taggart at Martin.Taggart@gmit.ie or check out https://www.gmit.ie/gmit-international-construction-management-conference-2018