Professional Education 223 37 th Annual Conference of the Australasian Universities Building Educators Association (AUBEA) The University of New South Wales, Australia A FRAMEWORK FOR COLLABORATIVE BIM EDUCATION ACROSS THE AEC DISCIPLINES Jennifer A. Macdonald University of Technology Sydney, jennifer.macdonald@uts.edu.au ABSTRACT The construction industry is beginning to move towards collaborative design practices worldwide, aided by building information modelling (BIM) tools and processes. However, the current shortage of building design professionals trained in BIM remains a barrier to universal adoption of collaborative working practices in the industry. Collaborative working using BIM requires not only the learning of new technologies/software, but also the learning of a new way of working. This means moving from a culture of litigation and fragmentation to one of information sharing, collaboration, and integrated project delivery. Various studies suggest that universities are lagging behind the construction industry in terms of adopting BIM technologies and improved collaborative working practices. Current building design education practice rarely involves collaboration between students training in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) professions. In the majority of universities in the US, Europe and Australia, AEC students continue to be educated in separate departments, with little or no integration or collaboration between the disciplines. The author is currently involved in an Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) grant- funded project. The aim of this project is to explore methods of improving collaborative design education among students of the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) disciplines, with the aid of BIM tools. This paper describes the “IMAC” framework that has been developed from this work to assist educators in benchmarking their own curricula and to develop strategies for improvement. Keywords: Building Information Modelling, BIM, construction education, collaborative working; Framework INTRODUCTION The construction industry is moving towards more collaborative working practices worldwide, aided by BIM tools and processes, but various studies indicate that tertiary and professional education is lagging behind (e.g. Becerik-Gerber et al 2011, Allen Consulting Group 2010, Forgues et al 2011). The current shortage of building design professionals trained in BIM remains a barrier to universal adoption of collaborative working practices in the industry. Just as industry must undergo a paradigm shift from its old combative culture to one of integration and information sharing, so must academia. The need for a framework to support adoption of collaborative design and BIM education by Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) schools has been stated previously (Macdonald & Mills, 2011). The author has developed a framework (called the IMAC Framework) with the aid of an ALTC (Australian Learning and Teaching Council) grant. This paper discusses its development and potential applications.