buildingSMART International Summits

There is no fixed location for the Summits, but they will always be in a country where a buildingSMART Chapter is in operation. It is also the aim of buildingSMART International to host one European and one “rest of the world” Summit in each calendar year.

Each Summit is organized by buildingSMART International in collaboration with the buildingSMART Chapter of the country in which it is hosted, who together form an event organizing committee.

The buildingSMART International Summit takes place twice a year – in the spring (March/April) and in the autumn (September/October). The exact dates are determined by, to name but a few dependencies: the dates of the last Summit, availability of the venue, consideration of local and international holidays and festivals, and timings of other similar industry events.

Each Summit takes place over 3 days, starting with a day-long ‘Opening Plenary’ and then running into two days of breakout sessions.

Historically, the Summits lasted 4 days (to include a Closing Plenary), but the 3-day model has been adopted as of Autumn 2024.

The agendas and initiatives change from one Summit to the next, but at any one Summit you might expect to see the following and more:

• Opening Plenary
• Industry keynotes
• Panel discussions
• Sponsors presentations
• National/regional event (subject to the host-Chapter opting to run one)
• Domain sessions
• Workshops
• Masterclasses
• Roundtables (often by invitation only)

On the first day of the event, no – all attendees join the Opening Plenary in an auditorium/theatre setup.

On days two and three of the event, yes – there are multiple breakout rooms. Attendees are free to attend any sessions of the Summit and it’s even possible to build your own agenda in the event platform/app.

All sessions of the Summit are recorded and published within the event platform, giving attendees the opportunity to catch-up on demand (regardless of ticket type). On-site attendees can even be sat listening to presentations in one room, whilst following another room in real time using the event app!

Tickets typically go on sale approximately 3 months before each Summit commences.

Yes – all Summits are fully hybrid events and have virtual tickets for sale. With the exception of a few invitation only/closed-door meetings, all sessions are broadcast live and recorded.

An early bird discount is available on all ticket types for approximately the first month after tickets go on sale. Once the early bird discount has expired, all attendees (presenters included) are required to purchase a full price ticket for the duration of their attendance. As a not-for-profit organization, this has to be our policy in order to make these events possible and sustainable.

Given the high number of sessions and speakers at all Summits, the agenda is very complex and does take a huge amount of time and effort from multiple stakeholders to assemble. As soon as a first draft agenda is ready to share publicly, it will be made available on the website for the upcoming Summit. This is typically 1 month before the event commences.

Absolutely! Sponsorship opportunities for the upcoming Summit can be found at the top of this page once available. If you can’t find them and/or would like to register your interest, please reach out to us via the contact section on this page.

With every Summit we try to partner with one or two hotels and negotiate a group booking, to offer the best rate possible to our attendees. Depending on the specific arrangements, the hotel might be on the same premises as the event venue itself, or it could be a hotel nearby. Details of how to book will be available on the website for the upcoming Summit.

Every Summit has a ‘Summit Dinner’. This optional add-on is a great opportunity to connect and unwind with like-minded professionals. Additionally, the Spring Summit features the awarding of the last year’s buildingSMART Fellows, and the Autumn Summit includes the ceremony for the current year’s openBIM Awards program, where all award winners are announced.

If you are part of a buildingSMART Chapter, yes! There is a base criteria that needs to be met, as well as additional guidelines, to ensure delivery of a successful event. Please reach out to us via the contact section on this page to find out more and to enquire as to when the next open opportunity might be.

If you are not part of a buildingSMART Chapter, the answer is unfortunately no.