ACT-UK Simulation Centre: use within the Department of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Building

The Advanced Construction Technology Simulation Centre (ACT-UK) is an innovative facility for training future construction managers, enabled by a semi-immersive virtual reality model of construction sites. As part of the degrees at Coventry University, four 2-day training sessions were conducted and attended by nearly 80 students. A reflective account of the process of formulating the training programme is reported in this paper. It highlights the process of running two pilot courses to help formulate the proposed training sessions. In addition, questionnaires were taken to identify the necessary ‘soft’ skills that the training process delivered. Comments on how the courses altered during their delivery are also described. As such the case study offers a lesson on the adoption of an innovative new problem based learning process to enhance the student learning experience within a higher education context.