Nemetschek India has launched Design for Reality, a national design and digital engineering competition for architecture and civil engineering students, in partnership with ICT Academy.

The initiative was formalised through a memorandum of understanding between ICT Academy and Nemetschek Group in Chennai, in the presence of Tamil Nadu IT Minister Dr Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary Dr Atul Anand and ELCOT Managing Director.

The competition will be open to students from architecture and civil engineering institutions affiliated with ICT Academy’s partner network, which includes more than 1,000 institutions across India.

Design for Reality will feature two tracks. The Architecture track will focus on sustainable and climate-responsive design, while the Civil Engineering track will centre on Building Information Modelling (BIM), collaborative digital workflows and technical problem-solving.

Participants will receive a discipline-specific problem statement and have eight hours to develop and submit their solutions. Entries will be assessed on technical accuracy, practical feasibility, digital proficiency and their ability to address real-world project requirements.

The competition was developed following consultations with architects, structural consultants, EPC contractors and construction technology professionals to identify skills required by industry. Its problem statements will draw on challenges including urbanisation, sustainable development, affordable housing, smart cities and infrastructure expansion.

“Design for Reality puts live industry challenges in front of students and gives them eight hours to solve them the way practice actually demands,” said Alok Sharma, Managing Director, Nemetschek Group India.

The initiative will also include train-the-trainer programmes to help institutions build capacity in digital design and engineering tools. Nemetschek’s software ecosystem includes Archicad, Allplan, Bluebeam, Vectorworks and Solibri.

Top-performing students and faculty mentors will be recognised at a national summit, with opportunities for industry mentorship and career engagement.

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