New Perspectives in Science Education

The share and sales of technical building equipment in construction projects is constantly growing [1], so that engineers for technical building equipment are increasingly needed for demanding construction and renovation projects. The classic engineering courses such as for example, civil engineering, supply technology or electrical engineering often only cover their respective sub-areas, although specialists are needed for these interface areas, especially for planning and design of technical building equipment. The bachelor's degree program “Smart Building Engineering” is successfully implemented in an interdisciplinary manner by the three departments of civil engineering, architecture and electrical and information technology. Both in the organization and in the development of the curriculum, new challenges and opportunities arise for innovative training of specialized young engineers for technical building equipment. In particular, the different work and approaches of the trades involved in the construction process require a high level of interdisciplinary communication and knowledge of the different perspectives later in the job in order to realize a successful construction process. The methodology of Building Information Modeling (BIM) is also taught and directly applied during the course for getting the students used to this collaborative way of thinking.