ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the education and training of the “T-shaped” BIM professional. It begins by highlighting that we live in a “knowledge economy” where propriety knowledge dominates as the commodity of competitive advantage. Effective professionals must themselves be knowledge enabled. In the past, it was sufficient for experts to be thoroughly versed in their field of endeavour. However, today’s experts must also be adept at navigating the rapidly evolving ways in which their expert knowledge can be applied. That is, they cannot only know how to apply their knowledge to set problems but also must be able to apply that knowledge dynamically and innovatively across new and emerging problems. The professional’s abstract skill set represents “vertical” knowledge, while the dexterity with which they can find new applications for that knowledge represents “horizontal” knowledge. These two dimensions, together, give us the “T-shaped” professional. The capable BIM professional stands out as the quintessential “T-shaped” professional. They must be expert in the principles of project management but also able to synthesize pools of knowledge drawn from disparate experts to solve ever-complex, unique problems. Similarly, therefore, the education of the BIM professional must incorporate these horizontal and vertical (H&V) knowledge requirements. The chapter goes on to explore the various pedagogies in H&V education. It closes by offering a new curriculum for the knowledge-enabled BIM professional, designed to meet the challenges of the knowledge age.
