The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has entered into a partnership with Nemetschek India Private Limited to strengthen industry-oriented learning in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) sector.
Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the two organisations will establish AEC Centres of Excellence in 10 AICTE-affiliated institutions, with a focus on creating an ecosystem where students can gain exposure to technologies and skills increasingly being used in the construction and infrastructure industries.
According to AICTE's announcement, the initiative is expected to upskill and reskill more than 25,000 students in civil and related disciplines.
BIM to become a key part of the initiative
One of the key components of the collaboration will be promoting Building Information Modelling (BIM) among students.
BIM is increasingly becoming an important part of digital construction, allowing architects, engineers and other professionals to work with digital representations of buildings and infrastructure and coordinate different stages of a project.
Under the partnership, students will be introduced to a 50-hour, three-credit BIM skill programme, giving the initiative a formal academic component rather than limiting the collaboration to short-term workshops.
The move comes as India's construction and infrastructure sectors increasingly adopt digital workflows and look for graduates who can work with industry-standard technologies. Nemetschek India has also been expanding its academic partnerships in the country, including collaborations aimed at bringing BIM and digital construction tools into learning programmes.
The proposed AEC Centres of Excellence are intended to create a stronger link between what students learn in engineering institutions and the skills expected by employers.
The partnership is expected to support:
Industry-relevant learning in architecture, engineering and construction
BIM-focused training for students
Upskilling and reskilling of students in civil and related disciplines
Greater interaction between academia and industry
Exposure to digital tools and workflows used in the AEC sector
Development of a larger pool of industry-ready engineering talent
The initiative also reflects a wider shift in engineering education, where institutions are increasingly being encouraged to supplement conventional classroom learning with practical exposure to technologies used in industry.
