IMPROVING PROJECT MANAGEMENT CURRICULA TO INCREASE STUDENT EMPLOYABILITY: A CASE STUDY

There is a growing need for qualified project managers who have skill sets that include leadership, people management, technical and business knowledge. As a result, formal project management (PM) education is increasingly important in many educational institutions. However, the prevailing industry judgment regarding the approaches taken by most institutions is that they are not adequate to meet the needs of the industry due to lack of exposure to real situations, lack of critical thinking and not knowing how to properly deal with conflicts. We present a case study of a novel teaching approach that combines face-to-face and/or online interactions in part to adapt to COVID-19 while increasing student employability through six complementary practices. They are a) blended learning environment, b) learn by doing, c) multidisciplinary pedagogical practices, d) continuous improvement, e) integration of teaching and research, and f) delivery by former / current project managers