Students were introduced to the high-tech construction industry at BME’s field camp in Göd

„There were students who approached our experts with very well-formulated, specific professional questions, which even they really enjoyed. As the average age in the Duna Aszfalt BIM division is under 35, they find it much easier to connect with young people”

– This is how Imre Vass, production manager for Duna Aszfalt and BIM, described one of the bright spots at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics’ testing camp in Göd.

The BME camp has a long-standing tradition

This fruitful collaboration between industry and education took place in Göd, at the BME’s Danube-side campus, where the university organises camps for civil engineering students in several sessions each year. This year, a total of 280 students were hosted across seven sessions, which is a significant achievement.  One of the distinctive features of BME’s civil engineering programme is this geodetic surveying practical, the history of which dates back to the 19th century. Students previously undertook the practical in Nógrádverőce, then in Balatonkenese from the 1960s onwards, before the surveying camp moved to Göd in the late 2000s.

For several years now, the Duna Group course has been taking part in a specialist programme on a designated day during these multi-day camps. During this time, students are able to gain first-hand experience of the very latest measurement technologies and equipment, thanks to a leading group of companies in the Hungarian construction industry.

Learning surveying from a book is like learning to swim from a book

Bence Takács, an associate professor at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME), sees one of the camp’s key benefits as the opportunity for students to experience geodesy in real-world field conditions. „Learning geodesy from a book is like learning to swim from a book: true knowledge is only acquired when you take the plunge,” the camp’s main organiser told Magyar Építők.

He also emphasised that students can develop their teamwork and collaboration skills in real-life situations; at the same time, community-building is just as important, yet it has now completely disappeared from universities.

„These days, most students sit down for a classroom lesson without really knowing anyone else. Here, however, we spend nine days together non-stop: we study and work during the day, and in the evenings we play tennis, fry bacon over a campfire or cook in a cauldron.”

They can also delve into the design of roads and buildings

One of the key elements of the surveying camp’s technical programme is the design and staking-out of a road. To do this, the students first establish control points, then survey the terrain, produce a map and a digital terrain model, and finally design and stake out the road’s centreline.

As part of the programme, surveys required for the reinforcement of an existing road surface will also be carried out, and a separate module will focus on building surveying. During the latter, a point cloud of a building will be created from photographs, which will also be georeferenced. Students will also be able to see for themselves what results can be achieved using photographs taken with a drone or even a simple mobile phone.

State-of-the-art equipment at European level supports the work

In response to our question, Bence Takács also touched upon the significance of the camp and the feedback received. According to him, the students generally appreciate the fact that they are being taught within the framework of such an intensive course. It is also important to them that, thanks to BME, a comprehensive range of equipment is available in Göd: „During the measurements, practically everyone is given an instrument, or pairs of students are provided with modern instruments.”

According to the associate professor, the standard of these facilities is on a par with those of any European university.

„This is complemented by the Duna Group’s range of equipment, which is virtually unrivalled in the country,” he adds. „It is no wonder that our students from Western countries also express their appreciation in this regard.”

In discussing the importance of the camp and, within it, the role played by Duna Aszfalt, Bence Takács also pointed out that universities are currently making enormous efforts to increase the number of engineers.

„Thank goodness we’re on the up now, so the number of applicants has increased both this year and last year. We’re also very proud that the previously alarmingly high drop-out rate has fallen as a result.”

The aim is not just to present the tools, but the entire process

The professional development day provided by Duna Group ties in perfectly with the processes and values of the multi-day camp described above. Imre Vass emphasises, first and foremost, that during this session, students are not simply shown individual pieces of equipment; rather, the aim is to demonstrate how to select the most appropriate technology for a given task.

With this in mind, the presentations provide students with a comprehensive overview:

demonstrating the tasks carried out in major infrastructure projects, the equipment used, the purposes for which it is suitable, and the professional, technical and regulatory conditions under which it can be used.

The programme also includes drones, laser scanners and an underwater drone

On the day organised by Duna Aszfalt, students are divided into four groups, which rotate through the stations. During this, they will have the opportunity to familiarise themselves with, amongst other things, drones, static laser scanners, hybrid measuring stations and mobile measuring systems. (Among these, the Leica Pegasus TRK 700 mobile laser scanner was in detail using the Duna Aszfalt – Ed.) At the drone station, students can follow the entire process, from flight planning through to safe flight and various settings.

What makes this venue special is that it is situated right on the banks of the Danube, so a water survey can also be incorporated into the presentation.

Experts from Duna Group are also demonstrating point-by-point depth measurements of the river bed using a drone vessel fitted with an Apache 3 single-beam sonar. A riverbed map can thus be produced from measurements taken along a predefined grid of points.

It is not the device itself, but the technology suited to the task that matters

At the end of the programme, the data collected using the various technologies can be combined into a single model: a coloured, three-dimensional point cloud is generated from the measurement results obtained from the air, land and water.

According to Imre Vass, one of the key messages of the presentation on modern measurement technologies is that a given task can now be solved in many different ways.

In professional practice, therefore, the aim is not simply to use the latest or most spectacular tool, but always to select the technology best suited to the task at hand, whilst taking cost and time considerations into account.

That’s why it can give a first-year student a huge boost

When asked about the benefits of the camp, Bence Takács highlighted the role of the practical demonstration day in helping students explore their career options, given that the camp is mainly attended by first-year students.

„A great many students arrive at university without really knowing what they want to study. A significant proportion of first-year students do not yet have a clear picture of what kind of work they might do as civil engineers. However, the field trip and the presence of industry representatives make it tangible for them to see what they can achieve if they persevere with their studies.”

Like Imre Vass, he too highlighted as a major asset the fact that Duna Group consistently sends a young team to the camp. „They are not much older than my students, but you can tell they are real professionals in their field. And that is something that appeals to the students:

”They can see that, just a few years after qualifying, young professionals can be entrusted with such a substantial range of equipment and such significant responsibilities.”

The journey from the survey camp could even lead to a job

Imre Vass explained that, for course Duna Group, the fieldwork camp not only serves to shape the students’ professional outlook, but may also be important in terms of securing future talent. He also cited the example of a female colleague who had previously completed her compulsory work placement at the company, then took part in an internship programme, and later went on to write her dissertation whilst working for the group. Following her successful final examination, she joined the company as a fully-fledged employee.

He gives another example of this process: Duna Group currently employs two interns from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME) and one from the University of Sopron, who, during their six-week compulsory placement, are also gaining an insight into various areas of the BIM division.

This approach holds enormous potential for the future

The fact that even interns are interviewed is a further indication of just how seriously the group takes this field. They endeavour to ascertain whether the student is more interested in surveying, geodesy, point cloud technology or modelling. The practical programme is then tailored accordingly.

Young people are important not merely as the next generation, but also because of the rapid advance of digitalisation and automation.

„The use of innovative technologies is practically in their blood; they are much quicker to embrace these tools. I believe this approach holds enormous potential for the future”

– pointed out Imre Vass.

An exemplary partnership has developed

In closing, Imre Vass also noted that the Göd measurement camp is just one practical example of the broader collaboration between BME and Duna Group. „We frequently work alongside BME lecturers on research projects, instrument inspections and comparative measurements, and there is a constant exchange of expertise between the university and the company in the field of measurement technologies.”

An alliance has been formed between the institution and the group of companies the cooperation, which was formally confirmed this year, Bence Takács also spoke enthusiastically.

„We owe a great deal to the Duna Aszfalt and Imre Vass’s team. Sharing research data or even lending each other instruments is just as common as reaching out to one another when we encounter a problem – this collaboration is truly fruitful.”

Bence Takács stated that feeding industrial experience back into teaching is what makes university education truly practical. „The experience gained by Duna Group through its specialist projects can be incorporated into teaching, whilst the university’s theoretical knowledge and research findings can also be utilised in solving industrial challenges.”