Digital Technologies Readiness Among Undergraduate Construction Management Students: An Exploratory Study

10 pages•Published: July 23, 2025

Sushmit Sharma Bhattarai, Shyaamkrishnan Vigneswaran, Soon-Jae Lee, Mithil Mazumder and Hyunhwan Kim

Abstract

This research explores the readiness of construction management students regarding their familiarity levels, their perception in the future, and barriers in learning of digital technologies in construction. This study utilized a mixed-methods approach to perform a comprehensive survey of construction management students focused on junior and senior levels. Digital technologies such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual/Augmented Reality (VR/AR), Drones, Lidar 3D scan, and Internet of Things (IoT) were emphasized and utilized in the survey questionnaire. Data was collected from 108 students and the results are summarized with analysis. The findings indicated varying levels of familiarity with BIM/VDC, and drones perceived as highly significant for future industry applications. However, substantial barriers, such as lack of formal training, high costs, time constraints, and limited emphasis by institutions, were identified as key challenges to technology adoption. A Spearman correlation heatmap highlighted the relationships between students' self-interest, perception of the necessity of technology, and their preference for traditional methods. This study emphasized the need for a systematic approach to reduce barriers, better align the curriculum with current industries digital transformation requirements and foster a culture of technological adoption among future industry experts.

Keyphrases: barriers, construction, digital technology, education

In: Wesley Collins, Anthony J. Perrenoud and John Posillico (editors). Proceedings of Associated Schools of Construction 61st Annual International Conference, vol 6, pages 231-240.

Links:	https://easychair.org/publications/paper/fqGN
	https://doi.org/10.29007/s817

BibTeX entry

@inproceedings{ASC2025:Digital_Technologies_Readiness_Among,
  author    = {Sushmit Sharma Bhattarai and Shyaamkrishnan Vigneswaran and Soon-Jae Lee and Mithil Mazumder and Hyunhwan Kim},
  title     = {Digital Technologies Readiness Among Undergraduate Construction Management Students: An Exploratory Study},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of Associated Schools of Construction 61st Annual International Conference},
  editor    = {Wesley Collins and Anthony J. Perrenoud and John Posillico},
  series    = {EPiC Series in Built Environment},
  volume    = {6},
  publisher = {EasyChair},
  bibsource = {EasyChair, https://easychair.org},
  issn      = {2632-881X},
  url       = {/publications/paper/fqGN},
  doi       = {10.29007/s817},
  pages     = {231-240},
  year      = {2025}}

Download PDF Open PDF in browser