Necessary adaptions of project management education for future project managers
Creators: name: Luzi, Remo
Publisher: name: ZHAW Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften
Year: 2017
Subjects: 370: Bildung und Erziehung

description: Project Management is facing a more complex and dynamic market environment because of the fourth industrial revolution. This asks project managers to have a new set of skills. However, it is argued that the current project management education does not sufficiently prepare project managers to obtain this set of skills.

Therefore, the thesis aims to identify the necessary adaptions of project management education. This includes the question about which skills are relevant and how and where they are optimally obtained. In addition to that, an alternative education model suggestion should be developed.

First, the requirements of leadership in the fourth industrial revolution are identified. These serve as a basis for the formulation of five theses about how project management education should be adapted according to the literature. Additionally, the five theses are brought together in the suggested educational model. In a next step, the theses and educational model are tested by consulting the teaching and learning side. The former is done with five experts interviews with open questions and the latter with an online survey for business students of three different business schools.

It is found that soft skills are to be included in project management education as to reach a balance of hard and soft skills. As an additional point, it is suggested to include a practical part in the education in order to enable students to gain work experience in project management. It is recommended to assign students only to projects which are organized in a dynamical and autonomous way. Further, it is claimed that students should be taught about the identity of project management. Because of the proposed enlargement of the scope of project management education, it is seen as a necessity that project management becomes an independent discipline. Considering the inputs of the experts and the students, the suggested education model is described to consist of four modules of which two are theoretical classes and two are internships with partner companies. A contractual agreement with the partner company is thought to ensure that the students can work in projects which are carried out in a participative and decentral way. At the end of the education, students would receive an officially recognized certificate. Additionally, there would exist the possibility to directly be employed by a partner company, finishing its internal project management in a shortened process. As another incentive, the education is thought to offer the regular assistance of an independent training institute for behavioral competencies to both students and partner companies.

The thesis presents a possible approach on how project management education could be offered. The formulations are of a general nature and for business students after their studies only. Therefore, it might be the subject for further geographical and branch related analyses in future papers. In addition to that, further studies could examine whether the scope and timing of the suggested model need to be adapted and how the model should best be implemented.