Formitas AG is involved in the curriculum of the new BIM advanced training master’s program at the Münster University of Applied Sciences. The first full-fledged, part-time master’s degree program “BIM – Building Information Modeling” begins in the winter semester of 2024/25 with a standard period of study of four semesters. The BIM experts at Formitas were involved in the design of the course structure and will contribute basic and practical know-how for the first three semesters of the master’s degree.
The goals of the course are to enable BIM management in the company as well as BIM management and BIM coordination in the project, taking into account the Open BIM approach and practical needs. All life cycle phases of a building are covered, from planning to construction and operation to demolition.
The application relevance of the course is guaranteed by cooperation with practical partners such as Formitas. BIM experts from the company will enrich the courses in the second and third semesters with best practice examples and provide insights into current industry challenges, developments and efficient working methods, according to for example in the module “BIM management and coordination in practice”. Students also have the opportunity to take the buildingSMART “Foundation” and “Practitioner” exams at the Formitas Academy.
The board of Formitas, Professor Hagen Schmidt-Bleker, will design the module “Digital Transformation: Introduction of BIM in the Company” together with Prof. Dipl.-Ing. A. Grübel. It deals with change management processes and New Work – related to BIM implementation in companies and projects.
“We have been working closely with the digitization experts at Formitas for many years as part of the part-time BIM training. Among other things, we have jointly developed a BIM e-learning course, the components of which we incorporate into the “Formal and legal foundations of the BIM method” module of the master’s curriculum in order to enable the study to be compatible with work. Our future master’s students will receive first-hand BIM expertise and state-of-the-art practice,” explains the head of the course, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Henriette Strotmann, Professor of Construction Management and Digital Building Cycle at Münster University of Applied Sciences and independent consultant for academy topics at Formitas AG.
The curriculum of the BIM master’s program extends from planning to construction execution to operation and also includes demolition. Three departments of Münster University of Applied Sciences joined forces to create the interdisciplinary concept: Architecture; Civil Engineering; and Energy, Buildings and Environment. Depending on their professional interests, students can specialize in the area of digitization and innovative project management with BIM. Various modules as well as the project and master’s thesis support the individual focus – for example in the area of object and specialist planning, execution preparation, construction execution or building operation.
The course is intended for professionals in the fields of architecture, civil engineering, building technology, energy technology, environmental technology, facility management and related disciplines. You will learn the specific organizational, technical and legal features of initiating, planning, implementing and managing BIM projects. The course is divided into a block week at the start of the semester and further 14-day classroom sessions during the semester on Fridays and Saturdays. The requirements are a first professionally qualifying, relevant university degree, at least one year of practical experience and German language skills at level C1. The Münster University of Applied Sciences opens applications every year from April/May.
The first semester provides basic knowledge of BIM, including formal, legal and technical expertise. In the second and third semesters, the focus is on discipline-specific applications and special features, which are dealt with as part of an interdisciplinary project in the second semester and a practice-integrated project in the third semester. The fourth semester includes the master’s thesis and colloquium.
