Assessing the Quality of an Innovative Learning Path for BIM Education: The DIGITAL DECATHLON

Abstract

The Erasmus+ funded project DIGITAL DECATHLON addresses the urgent need to modernize educational practices in the construction industry, especially in the field of Building Information Modeling (BIM). This study investigates how interdisciplinary, international and game-based learning can improve the BIM skills of students from different academic backgrounds and institutions in Europe. The study investigates whether an immersive simulation game involving students from five universities in Germany, Finland, Italy and Poland can effectively develop BIM skills and promote international and intercultural collaboration. The research uses a mixed methods approach that includes observational analysis, expert evaluations and surveys to assess the effectiveness of learning methods used in the game, to exploit for the optimization of the second game experience foreseen by the project. The results show that the simulation successfully engages students and improves their practical BIM skills. Nevertheless, there are areas that need improvement. Key challenges include harmonizing disciplines, improving the understanding of project management and ensuring consistent and equal communication between teams. These findings emerge from both qualitative feedback and quantitative performance data. This makes it clear that the existing simulation game is well suited to teaching the basics of the BIM methodology, but that some improvements are still needed, which will be incorporated in a second run, again subject to evaluation for capitalization and future replication.