The BIM Challenge 2026: what happens when documentation and site reality don't match

The 20th edition of the event, the first international one, announces the conference program and the first confirmed speakers. August 28–29, Constanța.

These are conversations that are rarely held in the construction industry: the public beneficiary and the builder, on the same stage, about the distance between the approved project and the actual construction site. The BIM Challenge, now in its 20th edition, builds around them the conference program from August 28–29, at Ovidius University in Constanta.

Landing page The BIM Challenge Conference

The anniversary edition is also the first international one: over 30 speakers from 6 countries, over 100 students in the competition that gives the event its name, and a program that starts from three simple questions, with complicated answers: What data do we actually build with? Who answers when the model says one thing and the construction site says another? And what data do you need to make good decisions when the money is yours?

"The BIM Challenge started as a summer school where students learned to work in Allplan. Meanwhile, the industry has changed and we have changed with it: today students work for a week in multidisciplinary teams, with architecture, structure and installations on the same model, as a real BIM process shows. And the conference emerged from the same logic: students and professionals very rarely end up in the same room. When it happens, both win. Students see how the people they will work for think. Professionals see the next generation and projects worked on for a whole week. At the 20th edition, we also opened the event to speakers and participants from all over Europe."

Dan Moraru, General Manager of ALLBIM NET, the organizer of the event.

Two days, two directions

Friday, August 28, is the day of data and decisions. Cristian Erbașu, the president of FPSC, opens the conference with a keynote address, " We build, but with what data?" , and the rest of the day takes the question further. Public authorities, architects, engineers and builders discuss what is lost between the approved documentation and execution and what a predictable public project looks like. Investors and consultants then put on the table the question of large projects: what data matters when the stakes are real? The European perspective comes from Marzia Bolpagni, who leads the working group for information requirements in construction in the CEN and ISO committees, with case studies from markets where ISO 19650 has become the way of working.

Each guest comes from a different position regarding the same issues: the builder who has seen both sides of the process, the expert who participates in writing European standards, the structural monitoring specialist for whom data quality is measured in the safety of entire structures.

See the full schedule for Friday, August 28th here.

On Saturday, August 29, the focus turns to those who follow. The day begins with the moment that gives the name to the entire event: multidisciplinary teams of students present their projects developed in a week of workshops, with architecture, urbanism, structure, installations and infrastructure on a single model. For the companies in the room, it is the most direct meeting with the next generation. The rest of the day takes the discussion further: who trains tomorrow's professionals, what skills do European standards require and what, concretely, artificial intelligence can do in a real workflow.

See the full schedule for Saturday, August 28th here.

First speakers confirmed

Marzia Bolpagni , International BIM Expert. PhD in ICT and Smart Construction, expert at the European Committee for Standardization and at ISO/TC 59/SC 13, where she leads the working group for the standardization of information requirements (Level of Information Need). Co-author of the 4th edition of the BIM Handbook and Assistant Editor of the BIM Dictionary, with over 30 international awards. She will give the keynote on the application of ISO 19650 in practice.

Cristian Erbașu, President of FPSC, General Manager of Erbașu Constructions and President of CAIR. He delivers the opening speech on the importance of data in public and private projects.

Cătălin Andrei , Head of BIM Management, STRABAG Romania. Over 9 years of experience in building BIM processes and teams in megaprojects, from the tender phase to handover to the client.

Andreea Cincă, BIM Coordinator, SCC Erbașu. A UTCB graduate engineer, with a master's degree in geotechnical engineering and seven years of experience as a designer in civil, hydro-urban and geotechnical constructions, she coordinates the digitalization of design processes within the company Self Consulting.

Mariana Garștea , General Manager, Sixense Romania. President of APMGS, specialist in structural and geotechnical monitoring, with over 20 years of experience in the digital transformation of infrastructure.

Bogdan Cristea , State Counselor, Presidential Administration. Architect, headed the Urban Planning Department of the Capital City Hall, where he coordinated the General Urban Plan of Bucharest and the Velo Master Plan. He brings to the conference the dual perspective of the designer and the public policy decision-maker.

Horia Petran, senior scientific researcher, INCD URBAN-INCERC and coordinator of the Romanian Building Knowledge Hub. President of the Pro-nZEB Cluster, PhD in engineering and energy auditor, has been coordinating European qualification programs for the implementation of the nZEB concept in Romania since 2011.

Mikko Stachl , BIM Specialist, ALLPLAN. Specialist in OpenBIM workflows, with reference projects such as Parkapartments Belvedere (designed by Renzo Piano) and the WIEN MUSEUM. Teaches BIM at two universities in Vienna.

Claudiu Salanță, Chief Architect, Cluj County Council. President of the Association of Chief County Architects, involved in protecting built heritage and digitizing public administration.

Rodica Lupu, General Manager, Cluster TEC. Founder and CEO of Loop Operations, expert in innovation management and financing, with over 20 years of experience in entrepreneurship and public policies. Coordinates, in partnership with the National Agency for Public Procurement, the INSIDE project, through which public authorities in each county learn how to define the requirements for digital and sustainable investments.

Irina Odor , Commercial Director, CELCO. Almost two decades in the company, she coordinates sales and marketing, the link between production and customers.

Michael Havran , Channel Account Manager, Bluebeam. Over a decade of experience in digitizing design and construction processes in Central and Eastern Europe.

See the complete and updated list of speakers here →

Tickets and additional information

Tickets for The BIM Challenge 2026 are available on the website .

About The BIM Challenge

The BIM Challenge is the reference event dedicated to Building Information Modeling in Romania, reaching its 20th edition in 2026, the first with international participation. Over the years, it has brought together thousands of students, academics, professionals and companies from the AEC industry. The 2026 edition brings to Constanța a week of practical workshops for students (August 24–29) and an international conference for professionals and decision-makers (August 28–29).

The event is organized by ALLBIM NET , a company that has been working with architects, engineers and construction companies in Romania and the Republic of Moldova since 1992. Beyond software solutions, ALLBIM NET offers consulting, implementation and training for BIM processes, collaborates with universities and professional associations across the country and organizes events that have become landmarks for the industry, including The BIM Challenge and InfraDays .

See the complete and updated list of partners here →

Press accreditations

Journalists and media representatives interested in attending the conference are invited to contact the ALLBIM NET communications team for accreditation at marketing@allbim.net .