AICTE, Nemetschek India Sign MoU to Set Up AEC Centres of Excellence in 10 Technical Institutions
New Delhi: The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has partnered with Nemetschek India Private Limited to provide Australian engineering students with the opportunity to learn and work with the latest Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) technologies.
The partnership will provide 10 AICTE-affiliated institutions the opportunity to establish AEC Centres of Excellence to upskill and reskill approximately 25,000 students studying Civil Engineering and related disciplines. AEC Centres of Excellence will provide students looking to join the Indian Construction and Infrastructure sectors with a competitive edge, as they will gain an understanding of the digital skills demanded by employers.
AICTE-Nemetschek Partnership to Focus on Industry-Ready Skills
The partnership aims to build bridges between industry demands and the skills taught in technical education. Through the proposed Centres of Excellence, students will receive more exposure to AEC technologies, digital workflows, and skills related to contemporary construction and infrastructure.
This partnership will focus on approximately 25,000 students studying Civil and allied Engineering. The collaboration aims to provide a more structured and continuous technical learning environment for students, compared to industry partnerships that typically offer a workshop and/or other less formal collaboration opportunities.
10 AICTE-Affiliated Institutions to Get AEC Centres of Excellence
As per the MoU, 10 AEC Centres of Excellence will be set up at AICTE-affiliated institutions. These Centres are expected to enhance industry aligned learning by providing students exposure to the technologies and workflows used in the AEC sector.
The centres have not been announced, and therefore the reports reviewed for this article do not mention the selected institutions. Their names must, therefore, be avoided until AICTE or Nemetschek list the centres.
2. 25,000+ Students to Receive Upskilling and Reskilling Opportunities
The most significant aspect of the initiative is the scale. More than 25,000 Civil Engineering and allied students are likely to benefit from the initiative, and will gain skills that are more appropriate for the needs of the changing industry in Architecture, Engineering, and Construction.
For students, this would mean gaining exposure to tools that are likely to be more prevalent in work situations, and, in particular, work situations where design and construction are done in controlled and technology-enabled environments. As the initiative focuses on solving the gap between learning in classrooms and skills required by industry, the partnership will address an important issue in technical education.
Building Information Modelling (BIM) Training is Now Recognised As Part Of the Curriculum
One of the things our collaboration is focused on is the addition of Building Information Modelling (BIM) training. Students will have the opportunity to take a 50-hour long BIM training course for which they will be awarded three course credits. With BIM, it is possible to build and manage the data of a project digitally and is very useful for the professionals in the built environment. The use of a 3-course credit program is an approach to give training a more formal academic foundation rather than just having BIM as an extracurricular activity.
Why BIM Is Important for Engineering Students
Rapid and large-scale changes in the ways industries use technology are also having a significant impact on the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) sector. As part of this transformation, BIM, AI, Digital Twins, and Digital Collaboration technologies have rapidly become very important. Nemetschek has recently increased the number of its education-centric collaboration deals in India. In July of 2026, Nemetschek made a deal with Novatr, an AEC-tech education platform, to improve India’s digital construction talent market, in part because of the need for more academic learning and industry-centric training.
Nemetschek provides a range of AEC software, including Archicad, Bluebeam, Solibri, Vectorworks, and others. This collaboration is part of our efforts to provide students more access to digital construction technologies and industry-based workflows.
Industry-Academia Collaboration Moves Beyond the Classroom
The collaboration between AICTE and Nemetschek emphasises the focus of technical institutes on the employability of students and their practical exposure. For Civil Engineering, the emphasis is on bridging the gap between traditional knowledge of Engineering and digital competencies. With the complexity of data involved in the construction of modern buildings and the planning involving multi-disciplinary teams, the integration of technology has become critical and is more User-Centric.
The proposed Centres of Excellence have the potential to empower institutions to adopt industry best practices in academia. As per available information, the main aim of the partnership is to:
- Establish AEC Centres of Excellence in 10 AICTE member institutions
- Upskill and Reskill more than 25,000 students
- Provide a short, intensive BIM training of 50 hours
- Provide 3 academic credits for the BIM training
- Enhance partnerships between industries and academia
- Increase student exposure to Digital AEC technologies
- Enhancement of industry-ready technical skills
What the MoU Holds for Civil Engineering Students
What is more important for students is likely not the signing of the MoU, but what happens at the Centres of Excellence. If the model is established as intended, Civil Engineering educators will have the chance to provide students with the opportunity to experience digital tools in the context of Civil Engineering project processes and understand the step-by-step procedure of the processes involved, before they enter the professional world.
The model also provides educators with an opportunity to reassess when and how engineering projects in Civil Engineering integrate technology across the project's lifecycle.
A Digital Shift in India's AEC Education
India's rapid pace of development demands engineers who can work across traditional engineering and digital spaces. Similar to India's infrastructure growth, most of Nemetschek's Indian partnerships have focused on BIM and digital engineering and technology-enabled construction. Nemetschek's partnership with Pinnacle Infotech in March 2026 included training, knowledge transfers, and a push for digital construction workflows.
Through this partnership with the AICTE, this industry focus is integrated into the technical education system.
Final Thoughts
The Online MoU between Nemetschek India and AICTE seeks to integrate digital construction skills into technical education, and with 10 proposed Centres of AEC Excellence, targeted upskilling of more than 25,000 students, and a 50-hour, three-credit BIM program, this initiative has a significant academic focus. Nonetheless, the true measure of an initiative's success will be the extent to which Centres of Excellence are translated into opportunities for students to have constant access to technology, practical challenges, and real-world integration.
For India's civil engineers of the future, this may very well mean the difference between knowledge of engineering concepts and the ability to use those concepts in the rapidly digitizing AEC industry.
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