Teaching project management skills: An example of collaboration between a university and the local PMI chapter

The demand for project management skills in industry is increasing; however the number of individuals who can meet the demand is decreasing. Universities are addressing these changes by developing project management degree programs. In this paper we describe the experience of a collaborative effort between one University and a local chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI). The result is a popular and highly successful program in which project management professionals from the PMI are engaged in student learning by providing a guest lecture series, serving as mentors for class projects, providing actual organizational projects for students to analyze and apply class concepts, and serving as judges on student team project competitions. The results are students who receive a rigorous education, hands on experience in industry, form relationships with, and learn practical skills from PMI volunteers; grounding their formal education in practical industry experience