When compared to the likes of the classics, sciences and history, a project management-specific curriculum in higher education throughout the United Kingdom is in its relative infancy. PPM is an evolutionary subject, one that has trouble being properly evaluated on such a scale because of its relative youth in layout, definition and bonafide origin. Some argue it only began in the 1890s in a more ad hoc, informal (i.e. Gantt chart) fashion. Others like Young-Hoon Kwak pointed to organisations becoming attuned to its practise in the 1950s. Dennis Lock has contended in the industry bible Project Management (now in its 9th edition) that master builders, creative architects and architects pre-dated Christ himself. Which would suggest that the wider scale of pick up was extremely gradual.
As we all know, the subjects we study are more than just their histories and origins, significant though this aspect truly is. Ultimately, recent generations in higher education have taught us that schools look for the next applicable courses of study to drive both the real-world readiness of their future alumni and the bottom line of a university’s business model. From that, we know that when a subject surges into the greater collective conscience as a weapon of mass production & application, you’re likely to get a new course of study.
This aqueduct (attributed to james.gordon6108 at flickr and re-used with permission) follows the early principles of Roman master builder Vitruvius, a godfather to early architecture and the seeds of which would later become project management.
“the odds are heavily stacked against the youth of the UK meeting (the industry’s) goals. Let’s estimate conservatively and suggest that 10 per cent (5,600) of the needed recruitment is project managers. Can these projects be managed by those experienced in sectors other than construction engineering? Judging by the way many companies are recruiting these days, probably not.”
Perhaps this is where higher education can plug in the graduates of project management and fill an anticipated void with a clock that is ticking. Initiatives by the APM to involve companies in the recruitment and development of young PM graduates could be a boon to such development; surely someone has to lead this new course of graduated talent into a workforce that is all too often taking its knowledge and expertise off to a new life of 18 holes, newer hobbies and grandchildren.
We mention things of this calibre because we’re trying to get a feel for what people think, feel and say when they see Bachelor’s or Master’s in Project Management degrees. Broken down categorically within our audience, we want to know:
- what a hiring entity (be they a recruiter or company’s HR department) thinks of it when they spot PPM degrees on a CV;
- what the candidates think of PPM degrees in relation to their career development and prospects;
- what the academics feel about what this new generation PPM-educated grads can bring to the table;
- how governing bodies are approaching these future members of their profession;
- what the sceptics have to say about it;
- what it means to the “I just fell into it” PPM practitioners of yesterday.
We’re going to collate the findings in a special September edition of Project Management Tipoffs, which comes out on the 15th September. Where can you make your contribution?
- LinkedIn Group Discussions: The Arras People Group page is hosting a discussion on Higher Education (LinkedIn members join here; sign up to LinkedIn here). The discussion also takes place in a number of other LI groups: The Association for Project Management, Project Managers on Twitter, and the PMOSIG.
Some early responses: “Evidence gleaned from the curricula of a number of these organisations suggest that such centres of excellence provide learning and accreditation opportunities focused on known domain expertise.”
“This growing number (of academic qualifications) are evidence that there is an appetite for ‘new thinking’ within the PPM space, but I would beware of pushing the “structured approach” too hard – after all the overall success rate for major programmes has remained consistently poor over the last 50 years and yet there have been dozens of “structured approaches” claiming to have the answer.”
- At Survey Monkey, we’re hosting a Higher Education survey that tries to get candidates’ views on all training methodologies and determines what the climate is like at the moment for the university trying to develop project managers of tomorrow.
Sample responses: “I have not fully completed my MSc. I have not been offered any PM role with higher pay compared to other roles. My MSc might still pay off at the later point. I only have 1 year and 3 months of PM experience. An MSc that is not backed up with work experience doesn’t seem to be of any value.“
“(A PM degree) provides credibility in a world full of self-professed experts who know very little about true professionalism.“
“I left with a broad cache of skills, however it’s often difficult to persuade employers the advantages of a broad skill set.“
- DM me (Twitter) or email me with your thoughts about some uni-related topics
- Get yourself published. As we wrote in Tipoffs last week, the wealth of opportunity to expand your self-marketed brand includes offering your expertise/services as a commentator in the written form. And as it is, we at Arras People always enjoy reading the thoughts of our PPM constituents in the long form. If you’ve a story idea built around these and related topics, we’re always keen to read them and consider them as guest contributions. Guidelines include that we need it emailed with a Word document attachment and a bare minimum of 500 words or a sheet of A4, complete with a profile pic and a short bio (which is not included in the word minimum stated earlier).
That final bullet point goes for any upcoming editions and beyond as well – we’re always open for guest contributions to Tipoffs, as well as here at How to Manage a Camel. At any rate, you’ve got a wealth of opportunity to give us your input on to co-existant both past and present of project management & higher education through Arras People this month – have at it.
Image courtesy james.gordon6108 @ flickr and re-used with permission.
