1. Development of M.Sc. In IT Management in Construction at Damascus University Project Overview & Lessons Learned TEMPUS Project: JEP-34054-2006 By: Dr. Talal Al-Shihabi, Damascus University

2.  IT in construction  Essential tool for ▪ Improving construction processes ▪ Creating new construction business opportunities ▪ Solving today’s problems with today’s technologies  In most developing countries, it is virtually missing from ▪ Practice ▪ Academic institutions (teaching and research)

3.  Title  Development of an M.Sc. Programme in IT Management in Construction at Damascus University  Project is Funded by  European Commission, TEMPUS Joint European Project  Co-Finance by consortium members

4.  The grant holder: University of Salford, UK  The grant coordinator: Damascus University, Syria  University of Claude Bernard Lyon I, France

5.  Duration  2 years  Official start date  September 1 st, 2007  finish date  Dec 31 st, 2009

6.  Design a regionally recognized master programme in the field of IT management in construction  Opening further cooperation channels between Damascus University and European members of the consortium

7. 1. Design the structure and the contents of the programme curriculum 2. Expose faculty members and engineers at Damascus University to this field 3. Design and equip a teaching room and a laboratory for the programme

8. 4. Establish a library for the programme 5. Prelusion for cooperation (joint degrees, split- site programs of study, etc) with European partners

9.  The preparation stage  Preliminary design of the curriculum (structure and contents)  Defining the technical requirements of the programme modules  The design stage  Detailed design of the curriculum  Equipping the laboratory and teaching room  Providing books for the library

10.  The implementation stage  Teaching the 1st and the 2nd term of the programme with participation of European partners  The evaluation Stage  Discussion of required modifications to the curriculum  Deciding on the final contents and structure of the programme

11.  The 1 st year  Modules ▪ Information & Communication Technologies ▪ Construction Management ▪ Corporate Management ▪ Visualization & Communication Technologies in Construction ▪ Modeling and Analysis of Construction Processes ▪ Special Topics in Construction  The 2 nd year  Master Thesis

12.  Language of Teaching  All assignments, projects, and exams are in English  All lecture notes are in English  Lecture delivery is combined: Arabic & English  Accreditation  The program is accredited by the Council of Higher Education in Syria

13.  Classroom & Laboratory  19 networked PCs with Internet access  large LCD display  High-performance graphics workstation with advanced displays  Printing, photocopying and scanning equipment  Books  325 books purchased

14. Programme Accreditation  Some Issues  Lengthy process that could involve few roundtrips  A critical stage whose delay will definitely delay most of the to-follow activities, mainly dissemination activities  One of the most important factor that determines the project success or failure

15. Program Accreditation  Some suggestions  Start as early as possible  Study the regulations well and find out what can be done and what cannot be done  Prepare your case

16. Dissemination  Some Issues  Students attendance of dissemination events is generally lower than expected - an experience shared with some other projects  Word-of-mouth is widely used among students  When it comes to implementation, most intended audience is either uninformed or misinformed  Low enrollment or high dropout rate later should not be surprising in the first year of implementation

17. Dissemination  Some suggestions  Get the accreditation as early as possible to get enough time for dissemination  If possible, designate an office to answer students’ questions about the programme  Always emphasize the exact nature of the programme  Work hard during the first year regardless of the low enrollment or the high dropout rates, this will guarantee better results the year(s) after.

18. Coordination of Academic Activities  Some Issues  Strong mindedness among some faculty members about their ways of performing academic activities

19. Coordination of Academic Activities  Some Suggestions  Develop templates for all academic deliverables and emphasize their use constantly  Heavily involve deans and department heads in supervising academic tasks

20. thanks