EPDE2022/1174 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ENGINEERING AND PRODUCT DESIGN EDUCATION 8–9 SEPTEMBER 2022, LONDON SOUTH BANK UNIVERSITY, LONDON, UK REALISING THE POTENTIALS OF VIRTUAL REALITY AND BUILDING INFORMATION MODELS? CIVIL ENGINEERING STUDENTS’ UTILISATION OF TECHNOLOGY IN A GROUP PROJECT Ingri STRAND 1 , Ernst Erik HEMPEL 1 and Eilif HJELSETH 2 1 Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway 2 Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway ABSTRACT Collaboration between different actors is key to successful projects within the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. Virtual Reality (VR) combined with Building Information Models (BIM) is an effective visualisation tool that may aid a team’s communication and collaboration. Civil engineering students at Oslo Metropolitan University are encouraged to use such tools, available to them in a dedicated digital collaboration room dubbed the ‘Little Big Room’ (LBR) along with computers and large touchscreens. This paper explores how the tools in the LBR are utilised by three student groups working on a project and how the students view them, discussed through the theoretical lens of the technology acceptance model. The aim is to suggest how students’ utilisation of the technology can be facilitated to improve their learning experiences in collaborative projects. The students were satisfied with using the LBR. However, the full potential of VR was not utilised, such as the option to evaluate the size of the rooms and lighting conditions, something they only realised in hindsight, as not all students perceived VR as sufficiently useful for the tasks given. Changing the criteria of the task or increased focus on the students’ first introduction to VR might facilitate increased utilisation of VR as a professional tool. Keywords: Virtual reality, building information models, civil engineering education, visualisation 1 INTRODUCTION Within the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry, collaboration between actors with different specialties is key to effective and successful projects. As mistakes or inefficiencies can easily result in large costs and delays, it is important to continuously search for ways to improve communication and collaboration within groups. Although an emerging method in the industry, the use of immersive Virtual Reality (VR) in combination with Building Information Models (BIM) has proven to be an effective way to visualise a project and improve the actors’ communication and understanding of the project [1, 2, 3]. 3D-representations can help participants discover errors and review the plans better than 2D plans [4], especially when viewed in VR [5]. However, studies show that VR still has an untapped potential [6, 7, 8]. This paper explores how civil engineering students utilise VR and other technology and their views on it, as part of a collaborative project. The aim is to suggest how increased utilisation of the technology can be facilitated to improve the learning experiences of students. 2 METHODS This study combined qualitative, semi-structured interviews with quantitative timekeeping records. Descriptions of these methods follow a description of the scene of the study and participant sampling. 2.1 The scene of the study This study took place in the Department of Civil Engineering and Energy Technology at Oslo Metropolitan University, more specifically in a dedicated digital collaboration room called the ‘Little Big Room’ (LBR). The LBR is a small version of the Big Rooms at construction sites, dedicated to collaboration between an entire project team [9]. The LBR is equipped with four sets of 65” touchscreens, computers, and Oculus Rift VR headsets.