Digital Tools for Collaborative Workflows: Course at MaCAD (IaaC)

Throughout February and March, I've been teaching the Digital Tools for Collaboration Workflows subject as part of the MaCAD Master's Programme at IAAC.

The course objective was to introduce the students into new ways of collaborating in the AEC, as our way of working is also shifting towards a connected environment where our project’s data can be shared with all involved parties effortlessly. This new way of working also introduces new challenges, like how to collaborate effectively within a company/team, but also how to set up effective data sharing strategies between different actors in the project.

It is no coincidence that Speckle 2.0 was chosen as the main tool for this course, as it provided the students with the freedom to design their own workflows and data schemas, specifically tailored to each project's needs (also, yes... I do work here!)

Learning how to use Speckle to collaborate and interop between software platforms was a big part of the course, but we also concentrated on documenting those workflows, pushing the students to "take a step back" from their software of choice (GH/Revit...) and think about the big picture: creating a design process that crosses software boundaries and is understood by the entire team.

There was some pretty epic results (although I'm not the most objective person to say so; I'm super proud of my students work!)

We've only highlighted a few of the many impressive workflows that were created. If you want to know more about the projects, you can check the MaCAD blog or watch the recording of the students final presentations on Youtube 👇🏼

If you're interested in teaching new digital skills to your students, Speckle's happy to help! We have a free partnership programme specifically geared towards universities and course leaders - we're happy to help!