How London South Bank University Teaches BIM and ISO 19650 with Plannerly
Dr. Zulfikar Adamu transformed postgraduate BIM education at LSBU – achieving 100% student certification, turning an elective into a core module, and producing industry-ready graduates who bring Plannerly into the workplace.
Dr. Zulfikar Adamu, PhD, FCABE, FHEA
Associate Professor of Strategic IT in Construction – London South Bank University
The Challenge: Bridging the Gap Between Theory and Industry Practice
Construction education faces a persistent disconnect. Universities teach standards like ISO 19650 in the abstract, but graduates arrive on the job without practical experience using the tools and workflows that make those standards come alive. BIM Execution Plans end up as copy-pasted templates, students graduate without ever touching a real information management platform, and employers are left to pick up the training burden.
At London South Bank University (LSBU), Dr. Zulfikar Adamu saw this gap firsthand. His MSc students – roughly 80% of whom are part-time professionals already working in the construction industry – needed learning that was efficient, practical, and immediately applicable in their workplaces. Traditional approaches simply were not cutting it.
“Students will not do anything if they cannot see a return from it – especially in terms of marks or employability.”
Dr. Zulfikar AdamuMaking matters worse, many competing software companies in the construction space lacked the educational content infrastructure needed for academic adoption. Without structured video courses, clear learning pathways, and formal certification, there was no practical way to embed these tools into university curricula at scale.
The Solution: Embedding Plannerly into the MSc Curriculum
Dr. Adamu integrated Plannerly into his MSc module on Information Management and Artificial Intelligence in Construction – a module now taken by QS and Construction Project Management students at LSBU. His approach centered on three innovations that together transformed both student engagement and learning outcomes.
1. Certification-Driven Learning
Rather than simply recommending that students explore the platform, Dr. Adamu made Plannerly certification a mandatory, graded component worth 10% of the final module mark. Students were required to complete the training video courses and submit their certificate as an appendix to their coursework.
The incentive structure was clear and effective. If a student’s group report scored 72% but they had not completed their individual certification, their mark dropped to 62% automatically. This approach drew on a proven model – Dr. Adamu had previously seen colleagues at Loughborough University achieve similar success tying BREEAM Associate certification to sustainability modules.
“The only way I could get them to do it was to assign marks to it. You tell them it is worth 10% and they say – oh my God, I will do this.”
Dr. Zulfikar AdamuThe result was dramatic: 100% of students completed the certification, with most finishing the entire course within a single weekend – just one to two days of focused self-paced learning.
2. Video-Based Self-Paced Learning
Plannerly’s structured video training content became the backbone of the platform instruction. Instead of spending classroom time teaching students how to navigate software, Dr. Adamu offloaded that learning to the comprehensive video library – freeing his limited contact hours for what matters most: problem-solving, critical discussion, and real-world scenario work.
“My job is not to teach you the software. My job is to come here and do problem solving in a classroom environment. The videos are fantastic – this is the thing that many software companies get wrong.”
Dr. Zulfikar AdamuThis distinction between content companies that invest in education infrastructure and those that do not was critical. Dr. Adamu specifically noted that competitors like Trimble and Bentley had approached him to introduce their tools to students, but without structured learning content, videos, and certification pathways, it was impractical. Plannerly stood apart by providing the full educational ecosystem needed for academic integration.
3. Real-World Simulation and Role-Based Learning
Students worked in project teams that simulated genuine construction environments. Each team member took on a professional role – Quantity Surveyor, Construction Manager, Project Manager – and used Plannerly alongside Autodesk Construction Cloud to manage information flows, create BIM Execution Plans, define information requirements, and collaborate in a structured digital workspace.
Dr. Adamu served as a member of every project team – just as a real client or BIM manager would in industry. Students raised issues, asked questions, and received feedback through the platform rather than via scattered email threads. This trained them to communicate professionally within a common data environment – a skill that translates directly to the workplace.
“This is the first time I took a module where I felt like a professional.”
Student feedback, LSBU MSc ProgrammeHear It Directly: Dr. Adamu on Plannerly in Education
Watch Dr. Zulfikar Adamu discuss his experience implementing Plannerly at London South Bank University in conversation with Akos Hamar from the Plannerly team.
Why Plannerly Worked in an Academic Setting
Simplifying ISO 19650 Implementation
One of Plannerly’s greatest strengths in education is how it demystifies complex standards. Rather than asking students to wrestle with blank Excel templates or reverse-engineer another company’s BIM Execution Plan, Plannerly provides structured templates, guided workflows, and a clear starting point. Students put in their project details, customize the generic fields, and produce professional documentation that matches industry expectations.
“Plannerly gives you a blank canvas – or a strong starting point – and removes confusion. When students download somebody else’s Excel template, they forget to change the project title. They leave another company’s email address in. With Plannerly, you customize it and you are sure it is going to be exactly what you want.”
Dr. Zulfikar AdamuBoosting Graduate Employability
LSBU places a strong emphasis on employability, requiring every module to articulate how its content prepares students for the job market. Plannerly’s industry-recognized certifications fit this mandate perfectly. Students can add their certification to their CV and LinkedIn profile, demonstrating practical competency in ISO 19650 and digital information management.
This is particularly valuable for LSBU’s international student population, for whom any credential that provides a competitive edge in the UK job market is highly prized. As Dr. Adamu explains, part-time MSc students frequently bring what they learn directly back to their employers – becoming the internal champion who introduces Plannerly to their company’s projects.
“They go back to work and tell their boss – why don’t we use Plannerly? It simplifies everything. You become the Plannerly person. You become the go-to person.”
Dr. Zulfikar AdamuComprehensive Learning Content
A recurring theme in Dr. Adamu’s assessment is the critical importance of vendor-provided educational content. Over more than a decade of bringing construction technology into academia, he has seen firsthand how the absence of structured learning materials kills adoption – regardless of how good the underlying tool may be.
- Structured video training covering BIM, ISO 19650, and Plannerly essentials
- Free certified training that students can complete in their own time
- Industry-recognized certification pathways from fundamentals through to ISO 19650 Specialist
- Free education access through Plannerly’s university partner programme
- AI-powered writing assistance for creating and improving project documentation
“Many software companies get this wrong. They don’t create content. They don’t have videos. They don’t have certificates. You can’t ask me to bring your tool into my curriculum when there is nothing for students to learn from. Plannerly has all of that.”
Dr. Zulfikar Adamu
Measurable Results and Growing Impact
The numbers speak clearly about the effectiveness of Dr. Adamu’s approach:
- 100% certification completion – every student in the cohort earned their Plannerly certification, driven by the grading incentive structure
- Rapid adoption – most students completed the entire certification in just 1-2 days of self-paced weekend study
- Elective to core module – the CIOB accreditation body reviewed the programme and recommended that Information Management become mandatory rather than optional for QS and Construction Management students
- Student cohort growth from ~30 to 70+ – with the module becoming core across two MSc programmes, enrollment more than doubled
- Direct workplace application – part-time students immediately applied what they learned at their jobs, with several introducing Plannerly to their employers
- Curriculum evolution – the module expanded from “BIM and Collaborative Working” to “Information Management and AI in Construction,” reflecting industry progression
From Elective to Essential: The Academic Journey
Dr. Adamu’s story at LSBU follows a trajectory that echoes his earlier pioneering work at Loughborough University, where he first brought BIM into the undergraduate curriculum. At Loughborough – a top-10 UK university – he replaced a full semester of AutoCAD instruction with a progressive BIM curriculum that moved students from 2D sketching through Revit modeling and into clash detection and coordination environments.
His capstone project model at Loughborough brought together students from civil engineering, architecture, construction management, and quantity surveying to work as real project teams. That same approach now thrives at LSBU’s postgraduate level, with Plannerly serving as the platform that makes ISO 19650 workflows tangible and accessible rather than theoretical.
The accrediting body – the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) – reviewed LSBU’s construction programmes and mandated that the information management module become core from 2025 onward. This institutional endorsement validated what Dr. Adamu had been championing: that BIM and information management are not optional extras but fundamental competencies for modern construction professionals.
Plannerly’s University Partner Programme
Plannerly provides free access to most of the top universities around the world that are teaching BIM, information management, and ISO 19650. Through our education partner programme, universities receive full platform access, student account management, free education licences, structured training courses with certification, and a library of industry-proven templates. Our goal is simple: equip the next generation of construction professionals with the skills and tools they need to drive digital transformation from day one of their careers.
If you are an educator interested in bringing Plannerly into your programme, we would love to hear from you.
Learn About Our Education ProgrammeVision for the Future: AI and Global Academic Collaboration
Looking ahead, Dr. Adamu sees several exciting opportunities. The renamed module – Information Management and AI in Construction – reflects a natural evolution. He is exploring how Plannerly’s AI capabilities can be woven into teaching, enabling students to use AI for generating document outlines, defining information requirements with regular expressions, creating acceptance criteria, and producing visual representations of scope items.
He has also proposed a bold idea drawn from his experience with Autodesk’s now-discontinued academic education initiative: an annual academic summer school where university educators from around the world gather to share best practices in teaching with Plannerly, exchange assessment frameworks, and stay current with platform updates. Having organized similar events for Autodesk’s BIM education programme across UK universities, Dr. Adamu sees Plannerly as the natural successor to fill that gap – with the added reach of international virtual participation alongside potential face-to-face sessions.
“If every university that teaches construction introduces Plannerly to their students, in three to four years you have an army of graduates – all of whom are aware of Plannerly and how to implement ISO 19650 properly. That is how you change the industry.”
Dr. Zulfikar AdamuAbout Dr. Zulfikar Adamu
Dr. Zulfikar Adamu is an Associate Professor of Strategic IT in Construction at the School of the Built Environment and Architecture, London South Bank University. He holds a PhD in Civil and Building Engineering from Loughborough University, along with degrees in Architecture from Federal University of Technology Minna (Nigeria) and Architectural Engineering from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (Saudi Arabia).
A Fellow of the Chartered Association of Building Engineers (FCABE) and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA), Dr. Adamu is also a member of the British Computer Society (BCS) and the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). His research spans BIM implementation, construction data analytics, blockchain in construction, smart buildings, IoT, and serious game development with VR and AR.
He is a frequent speaker at international conferences and workshops on digital construction, and has been instrumental in shaping BIM curricula at multiple UK universities. He has been using Plannerly since its earliest days as LOD Planner and remains one of its most experienced academic advocates.
Connect with Dr. Adamu on LinkedIn | LSBU Research Portal | Google Scholar