Competency requirements for engineering management undergraduates in the era of intelligent construction

In the era of intelligent construction, engineering management requires diverse abilities that cannot be provided through traditional engineering management education. Moreover, few studies focused on the competency requirements for engineering management undergraduates. In this study, a questionnaire with 12 competency indicators, including traditional engineering management competencies and new competencies arising from the advancement of information technology and artificial intelligence (AI), was designed and distributed to 942 employees from enterprises related to engineering construction. A total of 723 responses were received, of which 514 were deemed valid. The survey results indicate that the competency in traditional engineering management is considered “strongly necessary” or “necessary” by 84.24% of respondents. Similarly, competencies in analyzing and processing large-scale construction data, and in assisting feasibility analysis with AI, are valued by 80.35% and 78.99% of respondents, respectively. The above results illustrate that the integration of intelligent construction into traditional engineering management competencies is critical for future engineering management undergraduates. Therefore, courses on intelligent construction, such as data analysis, Building Information Modeling, and the regulated use of large language models, should be included in engineering management education. This study can provide significant support for reforming the education of engineering management.