BRE Academy to roll out BIM training in Middle East with local partner

The BRE Academy is to team up with a global sustainability consultancy headquartered in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, to deliver BIM training in the Middle East.

Alpin will act as a partner of BRE Academy to offer BIM courses in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, UAE and in Doha, Qatar.

Alpin will deliver the Academy’s BIM International foundation course covering topics including: what BIM is; where BIM has been successfully used internationally; and information management and project life cycles.

Delegates will receive information on relevant standards, methods and procedures to help them implement BIM Level 2, as defined in the UK.

Commenting on the partnership, Pauline Traetto, director of the BRE Academy said: “We are delighted to be working with Alpin in the Middle East to deliver our BIM programme. The BRE Academy has a significant international outreach – we pride ourselves on being able to adapt our content to meet specific local market requirements. I look forward to hearing how a BIM approach has benefited companies in the region.”

Jourdan Younis, Alpin’s managing director, said: “There is increased interest in BIM shown mainly by government clients in the region. Several now mandate the use of BIM on their projects. The BRE courses will help to clarify BIM implementation, simplify the process and most importantly explain the UK BIM standards which cover important concepts that clients and the supply chain should know in order to achieve success.”

Dubai has had a BIM mandate since 2014, which applies to all buildings of 40 stories or higher, buildings of 25,000 sq m and upwards, all projects with an international client, and all hospitals, universities and major public buildings.

Qatar, meanwhile, is working towards a BIM standard, and several key clients such as Qatar Rail have already adopted it.

Alpin was established in San Francisco in 2007, later moving to Masdar City. It offers consultancy to clients in Europe, the US and Canada and Australia as well as the Middle East, working with a network of locally-based consultants who also pursue other projects outside Alpin.

Muhammad Jabakhanji, Alpin’s head of virtual design and construction and BIM, said: “BRE’s international BIM courses set a strong foundation for those interested in understanding how to adopt best practice. They are aimed at developers, consultants and contractors alike.”

BRE Academy’s training programmes on BIM have been developed by specialists who have helped to shape industry standards, including Nick Nisbet and Mervyn Richards. 

The BRE Academy has a significant international outreach – we pride ourselves on being able to adapt our content to meet specific local market requirements. I look forward to hearing how a BIM approach has benefited companies in the region.– Pauline Traetto, director, BRE Academy