B7 - Course Reflection

Reflect on course and its effect on your profession and your future

I did not know what to fully expect when I enrolled in the Intelligent Buildings course. I was intrigued by the course description which mentioned computer tools used throughout a buildings life cycle as well as BIM technologies and sensors. Aside from BIM these were topics I had never had discussions about in class or with fellow classmates.  I thoroughly enjoyed the open-ended aspect of all the assignments throughout the term that challenged me to try new things I had never done before. For example, create families in Revit or create functional databases/queries in Access. The pace of the class was fair yet offered us a varied insight to new technologies like robotics, 3D printers and sensors and how they are rapidly being used in a wide variety of fields.

I was in the middle of two database classes upon registration and was excited and curious to learn how I could apply them to my CIVE/AE major and what is currently being done in the professional world. I enjoyed having employers from companies like Whiting-Turner and Microstation to discuss some of the technologies we discussed in class are being implemented in their daily jobs. Technologies like drones, laser scanning, point cloud imaging and BIM are not 1 or 5 years from being implemented but are here today. It is very exciting to be entering the professional world with these and many more technologies.

I hope that my future revolves around working for a company that looks towards the future and sees that construction and engineering is heading towards these technologies being implemented everyday in projects. My interest in BIM and digital buildings is something I never got to experience as a co-op at Drexel, but hope to learn then from future employers. I plan to either teach myself for about SQL and databases or take additional classes as I feel it is a very important tool in the digital building world.

Comments:

Hamad Al-Sulaiti: I agree. The guest speakers gave us great insight as to what real companies are doing and it helped relate the technologies to real world construction projects. It is very important to be open to changing technologies and find was to make engineering/construction safer, more reliable and efficient.

Hang Wang: As per your class recommendations, I agree that it might make groups converse more if they are smaller (3-5) rather than 5-7. I found the group discussions and interesting time to learn what my classmates had read about and hear their opinions on certain digital buildings that may coincide or be opposite of what were learning.

Mikaela Price: I too was still somewhat unsure of exactly what I wanted to do. After taking this class, it has open my eyes to a lot more possibilities what AE majors can work on and who employs them. The role of BIM coordinator seems like a very interesting role that entails a wide variety of design projects making each work day a little different and challenging.