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Education Plus
Building on virtual reality
Gone are the days when students from civil engineering classes will have to use their artistic skills to draw and explain the structural nuances. With the advent of Information Technology, students can now turn their ideas and dreams into virtual reality in engineering laboratories. This has been made possible in one such laboratory in the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M), set up by Autodesk Inc., a leading design software and digital solutions company. It has
set up a state-of-the-art Integrated Construction Practice Laboratory for study and research in areas such as integrated construction practice.
Autodesk has recently entered into an agreement with IIT-Madras to provide computing infrastructure, leading 3D design software, including Autodesk Inventor and Autodesk Alias Studio industrial design tools. It will also assist IIT-M in developing design courseware and potentially new elective inter-disciplinary courses in the areas of product design, said Koshy Varghese, Professor, Building Technology and Construction Management, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT-M.
Prof. Varghese said the laboratory will be the nucleus for a consortium of facility owners, contractors, consultants and researchers formed to address need-based research in the area. IIT-M will also initiate a graduate-level course in ‘Integrated Construction Practice’ for its students and jointly conduct a ‘finishing school on integrated construction practice’ with Autodesk.
“With boom in the infrastructure industry, there is a great demand for civil engineering students. Most often what the students studying the class is not what they practise outside. This lab will enable them to get a feel of 3D effect and give an idea of what they plan to design and deliver,” Prof. Varghese said.
Autodesk will collaborate closely with IIT-M in developing design courseware and curriculum in the area of Integrated Construction Practice. The lab will serve as a learning centre for architects, civil and construction engineers on the use of model-based design software for Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Integrated Construction Practice.
Students at IIT-M will also receive access to the global Autodesk Student Engineering and Design Community portal to download the free software they need to bring their designs to life.
Tom Joesph, Director (Education Programmes), Autodesk Pacific, said that with India facing a boom in the architectural, engineering and construction market and the prospect of the country becoming a hub for design outsourcing, there is a growing need for qualified designers. The designers were needed to be trained and equipped with the latest 3D concepts on civil design and technology. He hoped that this tie-up would give students the competitive edge to start their careers at a different echelon, which would help create the required talent pool for this fast evolving industry. Mr. Joseph said the tie-up would be beneficial not only to the students but also the industry as it would help the students and the faculty keep abreast of the latest technologies in the field.
SHANTHI KANNAN
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