Project Management: An Introduction

Description

This is a very intense and compact 1-day course that provides a high level overview of key PM techniques and concepts. It offers an introduction to the process of managing projects and the tools to assist in planning and tracking progress; this course is intended to be immediately applicable to planning and managing academic and research projects as well as commercial projects. It covers the theory and principles of project management within the context of the Project Management Institute.

During this 1-day course, participants will:

  • Learn the basics of the project planning process and receive a set of checklists and guidelines that can be used immediately on any project
  • Appreciate the fundamental principles of a well-led and well directed project, such as identifying and scheduling tasks, activities, milestones and understanding and managing stakeholders
  • Be aware of the critical factors that will influence whether a project will be successful or not, including identifying and managing risk
  • Use practical, group-based exercises to reinforce and enhance the skills learned
  • Create work breakdown structures, network diagrams, critical path and PERT analysis, Gantt charts and other techniques that ensure robust project control

PhD Researcher Feedback (2019)

  • Excellent workshop with great practical tips on how to structure and carry out the PhD.
  • Facilitators were engaging and easy to follow.
  • Both facilitators were fantastic at relating real life project management to a PhD. Found the course very very useful and would highly recommend.
  • The presenters were very experienced, very organised, with excellent public speaking and presentation skills. I loved that it was tailored for PhD researchers.
  • One of the best workshops I had. Fraser and Cath are very professional and know exactly what we need :)
  • This was a workshop that I really wish had been offered last year because I now have a whole new lease on my PhD as a workable project. The presenter was top-notch and really broke project management down in a way that was accessible, understandable, and engaging. This should be a mandatory workshop for 1st year PhD students.

Facilitators

  • Dr Fraser Robertson

    Dr Fraser Robertson has been involved in large-scale projects for over 15 years. He has run project teams for organisations in such diverse locations as Zürich, New York, Shanghai, Johannesburg and Ljubljana. Fraser has used his project management experience to train and mentor in these cities as well as at HEIs in the UK and mainland Europe.  He completed his first degree in Electronic Engineering at the University of Glasgow and subsequently a PgDip in IT at the University of Paisley.

    Fraser is certified at PMP (Project Management Professional) level with the Project Management Institute, an accredited PRINCE2 practitioner and was elected a Chartered IT Professional in 2005. Formerly training manager at SunGard's Glasgow research and development centre, Fraser developed a certification and mentoring programme for both internal and client staff based on the government's SFIA Framework.  
Fraser graduated with a Doctorate of Business Administration in 2015. The title of his research is "Participant perceptions of value: a qualitative framework for evaluating project management training".

    On a personal level, he loves most sports, enjoys music (either playing or listening) and is a FIFA-qualified football referee.

The Vitae Researcher Development Framework

This session maps on to Domain C of the Vitae Framework: Research governance and organisation which includes the sub-domain areas of:

  • C1: Professional conduct
  • C2: Research management
  • C3: Finance, funding and resources
The Vitae Researcher Development Framework