Wawasan Open University (WOU)

School of Science and Technology (SST)

Wawasan Open University (WOU)

Wawasan Open University (WOU) was established in 2006 with a unique and socially responsible objective – to provide working Malaysians access to quality higher education and lifelong learning opportunities via open distance learning (ODL) regardless of their educational, ethnic or socio-economic background for self-enrichment and professional advancement. In line with the objective, WOU is one of the national Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL) assessment centres appointed by Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA).

The School of Science and Technology (SST) offers a broad range of postgraduate and undergraduate programs designed to meet the needs of industries amidst ever-changing technology, including two Construction Management programs, namely Bachelor of Technology (Hons) in Construction Management (BTCM) and Master of Business Administration in Construction Management (MBACM) that have received full accreditation status by MQA and recognition from the Public Service Department Malaysia (JPA).

Implementing CostX into classes:

Quantity surveying practice courses focusing on take-off, measurement, cost estimation, procurement strategies, contract documentation, and BIM-based construction estimating software are offered within the Construction Management program. RIB CostX®, including modules on 2D & 3D / BIM measurements for both architectural and structural elements, is taught during the hands-on practical laboratory classes of the QS courses, where students’ participation and completion of the exercise at the end of the lab classes contribute to the assignments’ marks. At WOU, we also have a Learning Management System (LMS) that houses an online forum where additional RIB CostX® resources for the course (e.g. video tutorial links, webinars, user manuals, and blogs) are shared.

Outcomes:

Being an ODL university, our virtual learning platforms are naturally flexible and accessible to cater to our students’ learning experience, even despite the interruption brought about by COVID-19. However, there have been classes with practical training initially conducted on-campus that had to go online due to the nationwide shutdown of on-campus teaching. As such, the RIB CostX® Educational Standalone licenses that are available to students and lecturers to install onto personal PC’s/laptops made it possible for online lab classes to continue effectively.

Final thoughts:

We fully endorse RIB CostX® because it is one of the leading BIM-based construction estimating platforms used internationally as well as locally. We are determined to equip our students with industry-relevant knowledge and skills that will give them a competitive edge in today’s changing work environment amid technological disruption, especially as the Malaysian government aims for greater adoption of BIM moving towards Industry 4.0.