New partnership provides fully-funded PM training for up to 90 teachers

Ireland Chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI) has announced its new partnership with the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2016, in which they are investing up to €36,000 to provide teachers of this year’s finalists with expert-led project management (PM) training. This training will be fully funded by the Ireland Chapter of PMI. It is the first time that PM training sessions will be provided for the schools shortlisted to take part in the prestigious competition.

This partnership meets a need for foundational project management skills, essential not only for success at the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition, but to enable young scientists and entrepreneurs to commercialise their ideas and to bring their innovations to reality.

The Ireland Chapter of PMI will provide the training on a voluntary basis for up to 90 teachers prior to the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition (BTYSTE) at the RDS in January 2017. Teachers will be invited to attend one of three training days to be held at the Hilton Hotel, Charlemont Place, Dublin on November 9^th, Kemmy Business School, University of Limerick on November 10^th, and Rochestown Park Hotel, Cork on November 11^th.

Speaking about the new training programme, PMI Educational Foundation Liaison Officer of the Ireland Chapter, Jackie Glynn said: “PMI’s 8th Global Project Management Survey found that projects with a high priority on project management (PM), were 71% more successful in reaching their goals and original intent. This highlights the importance of PM in the workplace, therefore, we strongly believe that it should be a key aspect of our second level education. In the same way that the Coder Dojo movement believes that everyone should know how to code; we believe that everyone should have skills in project management, as no matter your profession you are either going to be part of a project team or lead a project.”

“Also, entrepreneurship and project management go hand-in-hand – a great idea cannot become a reality without clear project management. This partnership with the BTYSTE is helping to address this gap in training, and ensuring that our brightest students are better positioned to make their brilliant ideas a viable business.” added Ms Glynn.

The Ireland Chapter of PMI is making a commitment to ensure that PM training can be made available to second-level students. To this end, they are currently involved in a project to provide PM classes to Transition Year students.

Head of the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition, Mari Cahalane says “The Exhibition, and our BT Young Scientist Business Bootcamp, provide a platform for young people not only to explore their original ideas but to also develop their projects into successful businesses. However, not all students are aware of the vital project management skills necessary to make this a reality. We are delighted that the Ireland Chapter of PMI is embarking on this important initiative which will provide expert and practical training on the successful development and execution of a project.”

The PMI is the world’s leading not-for-profit professional membership association for the project management profession, spearheading project management certification, education, research and training. More than 50,500 people are currently employed in project management related roles in Ireland.