Same same, but different – or how construction informatics gets taught at universities in Norway and Sweden

Abstract

In response to the increasing demand for construction informatics (CI) expertise, universities in the Nordic countries have developed new educational offers. This study explores how CI related education is being delivered by three different universities, two in Norway and one in Sweden. By comparing curricula and interviewing CI teachers, this paper contributes to the recent debate on the international standardization of CI competence by providing a Scandinavian view. The paper uses a pedagogical framework for hybrid teaching identifying which different “Scandinavian” aspects of CI-based work are focused on education. The results illustrate how all universities provide core competencies for digital work in projects, but their emphasis differs. What all CI education, sampled in this paper, had in common is a strong emphasis on the socio-technical aspects of CI as well the hands-on technical aspects of BIM. It can be reasonably claimed that a more Scandinavian approach to CI education could further inform the standardization of BIM competence. Moreover, this integrated approach appears well suited for creating student engagement and for turning construction into a modern sector of the economy.