The organizing committee of NORDNET'2007 has issued an invitation for project management professionals and executives around the world to visit Reykjavík, Iceland on the 26th to 28th of September 2007. The aim of the conference team is “to provide you with interesting presentations and challenging discussions on the issue of managing projects under risk.”

The conference will be split into three streams, State of the Art, Research and Innovation where scholars, experienced project managers and other professionals will discuss the topic from various points of view. A draft of the schedule can be found under the link Programme on the conference website.

Some themes expected to be covered include:

• Geothermal Deep Drill Project
• Icelandic Coast Guard
• High Risk Investment Assessment
• The Icelandic National Concert & Conference Centre
• New Hi-Tech Hospital Project in Iceland
• Massively Multiplayer Online Games

The main themes have been announced for the VII International Project Management Seminar to be held in Sao Paulo, Brazil during 17-19 October 2007. Professional presentations and speeches will occur in four areas – Strategy, Processes, Leadership and Trends.

The symposium will be the seventh edition of the International Project Management Seminar, organized by the Project Management Institute São Paulo, Brazil Chapter (PMI-SP). Accumulating a continuous successful history which crescent attendance – last year the event brought together over 600 attendees – the International Seminar is an annual landmark in the Project Management field in Brazil and Latin America.

This year, the 3-day event will include academic paper presentations, regional and international keynote speakers, as well as a vendor exhibit fair and a CEO Panel, and is organized into four tracks:

Strategy – Over time, organizations have become more and more worried about the direct results that good Project Management brings to their businesses. For this reason, it’s been more important to integrate the best project management practices with different strategy instruments. The international project management seminar, with this vision, proposes discussions on corporate positioning, program and portfolio management, Balanced Scorecard, strategic alignment, corporate governance and their relationships with the project environment.

Processes – The Project management routine is the focus of this track. This is the opportunity to explore subjects such as planning tools, good methodology implementation and project management cases, project management office (PMO) and other topics related to the day-by-day of project management in a corporate environment. There is no doubt that this is an important area to be discussed to guarantee the efficient use of resources to reach project’s success.

Leadership – We all know that organizations are not only made of cold tools and objective techniques. Any virtuous project environment contains good human resources management and the success of their initiatives is always related to the presence of leaders. Therefore, this year this track was conceived to give the opportunity to discuss the project management “soft skills”, the non-technical field which includes topics such as team forming and management, negotiation, leadership styles, conflict resolution methods, the project manager’s profile, communication, among others.

Trends – Carrying on the last year’s seminar, whose main theme explored “the new frontiers” of project management, this year this track aims to discuss the future of this field and, then, is going to present what the world is developing and aspiring to develop in this domain. New learning, new techniques, experiences and cases of use of the traditional techniques in new industries, the future of the project management professional, agile project management and other topics linked to the future of this management field will be discussed here.

Registration fees and process, paper submissions and further information can be found on the seminar’s web site: www.pmisp.org.br/viiseminario.

Projects in Innovation, Innovation in Projects, the eighth research conference sponsored by the International Research Network on Organizing by Projects (IRNOP) will be held in Brighton, UK, September 19-21, 2007. The hosts for the conference will be CENTRIM, University of Brighton and SPRU, University of Sussex. The central theme of IRNOP VIII is the link between innovation and projects. Within this general theme the conference will cover the role of projects in innovation (taken broadly to include not simply technological innovation, but organisational innovation and other forms of innovation) and the role of innovation and innovative approaches within projects.

The September conference will be located in the Freeman Centre on the University of Sussex Campus outside Brighton, in the South of England. The Freeman Centre is home to two leading UK Research Institutes in the field of Innovation – SPRU (Science and Technology Policy Research) and CENTRIM (Centre for Research on Innovation Management). Built with Government funding, the Freeman Centre was specifically designed to provide a stimulating environment for academic research in the 21st century.

According to the latest news, preparations for the conference are now well advanced, with prime locations booked for the drinks reception and the conference dinner. Also announced: PMI, the Project Management Institute, has offered to provide general sponsorship for the conference. IPMA, the International Project Management Association, are also sponsoring a series of prizes for the papers and posters, as well as some more general sponsorship.

The conference Organising Committee includes:

• Dr Tim Brady, CENTRIM, University of Brighton
• Prof. Mike Hobday, SPRU, University of Sussex
• Steve Flowers, CENTRIM, University of Brighton
• Dr Andrew Davies, Innovation Studies Centre, Imperial College, London
• Dr Jonas Söderlund, University of Linköping, Sweden

For more information, visit http://www.irnop.org/conferences/. Or contact the Conference Organiser, Dr. Tim Brady at +44 1273 877932 or t.m.brady@brighton.ac.uk or the Conference Administrator, Ms. Sara Hafeez at +44 1273 877928 or s.hafeez@brighton.ac.uk.

Primavera, one of the world's leading project management software and technology companies, has announced that John Cleese will be the keynote speaker at the the 24th Annual Primavera Conference on Monday, October 22nd. John Cleese, one of the world’s most influential comic writers and actors of the past 40 years, will show you how an element of creativity in the business world can reap untold dividends, from recruitment, training and retaining employees, to better and more enjoyable customer service, to helping businesses innovate and accommodate change.

John Cleese was born in Weston-super-Mare. He eventually recovered from this and won a place to study science at Cambridge. After sampling the conversation in the Chemistry laboratories, he switched to Law. However, the success of the 1963 Footlights Review saved him from a solicitor’s career.

After appearing in a Broadway musical, in which he was forbidden to sing, he became a writer-performer in The Frost Report, Monty Python’s Flying Circus, the Monty Python films, Fawlty Towers and A Fish called Wanda. In 1972 Sir Tony Jay invited him to co-found Video Arts. This company became the largest producer of business training videos outside the U.S. He also helped psychiatrist, Dr Robin Skynner, to write two best sellers, Families and How to Survive Them and Life and how to Survive It. He also started the Secret Policeman’s Ball concerts for Amnesty, and has continued to do a lot of charity work, much of it for the BBC.

In his twilight years he passes his time writing film scripts, making speeches to business audiences, doing seminars on creativity, teaching at Cornell and UCSB, playing “Q” in the Bond movies, constructing a virtual reality on his website, www.thejohncleese.com, podcasting on www.johncleesepodcast.co.uk and, of course, trying to grow a decent tomato.

The Project Management Institute – Greater New Orleans Chapter (PMI-GNO) is partnering with LavaCon to co-host a Professional Development Summit (PDS) in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA during October 27–30, 2007. This will be the biggest project management event in “The Big Easy” which shows the strength of the city and its ability to support tourism and conventions since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city and region in 2005. It represents a huge milestone for the PM profession in New Orleans.

What’s Different about this PDS? According to the conference brochure:

• Extending the PDS program to a three-day conference with over 60 breakout sessions and hands-on workshops
• Introducing national and international professional speakers at a state-of-the-art conference setting
• professional conference management
• “Putting It All Together” with a Fun Project that will get you out of your seat
• Contributing to the New Orleans community

An important project management event has been announced by the Valencia, Spain chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI®), to be held during 22 November 2007. The last PMI Valencia Board of Directors meeting, celebrated on March 14th, has meant the first step on the Valencia’ Project Management days preparation. That PMI Valencia Chapter is being run every year very successfully. Information Technology and Communication projects in the Industry Sector will be the foundation from which they will develop these days on November 22nd 2007 in the Spanish city of Valencia.

This year the design, planning, managing and running of this event is announced like a Project Management Case Study. That way, the PMI Valencia Chapter has requested to their Chapter members to present themselves as project manager candidates for those days; leading this challenging project and working on team with the PMI Valencia Chapter Board of Directors. Additional information about this event will become available in the near future.

Following on their very successful (some 750 visitors) Best Practice Showcase in 2007, the BPUG (the Best Practice User Group - www.usergroup.org.uk) has announced its 1st International Congress for Project, Programme and Risk Management for February 2008 in London. The event will combine a conference, exhibition, gala dinner and series of other attractions including roundtables, 1-2-1 clinics and the like. More details can be found at www.bpugcongress.com.

The world class conference, networking dinner and exhibition will facilitate knowledge sharing for managers of complex projects and programmes. Delegates will forge new contacts and generate ideas and strategies to help their projects and programmes stay on track.

The first BPUG International Congress will be held during 6-7 February 2008 at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel, Kensington, London, UK. While the exhibition is FREE, an all inclusive conference place is priced from £550 + VAT.

The BPUG Congress will answer questions such as:

• Should you apply a formal methodology such as PRINCE2™?
• How can you get the most out of practical guidance such as M_o_R® and MSP?
• How do you gain buy-in from senior management?
• Where do you allocate limited resources most effectively?
• How much risk is acceptable?

Experienced speakers will discuss the challenges they face in their organizations during the two-day conference. They’ll demonstrate which tools and techniques work for them. Specialist consultants and training companies will be on hand in the exhibition arena and there will be a series of roundtables and clinics for those needing advice.

The highlight of the event will be a gala dinner where delegates will be able to socialize and discuss the burning issues they face with their peers. The parallel BPUG exhibition is free to attend. A full conference pass costs from £550 and includes access to all conference sessions, evening reception, gala dinner, lunches, breakfast and one night’s hotel accommodation at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel.

This event is hosted by the Best Practice User Group (BPUG) and supported by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), The Stationery Office (TSO) and The APM Group. To register, visit: http://www.bpugcongress.com. BPUG international Congress is organized by Subject Matters Ltd. The conference costs £550 for BPUG members and £750 for non members. Non members also get £100 discount off BPUG membership fees if they join BPUG when registering for the conference.

Best Practice User Group™ (BPUG) aims to be the official user group of choice for projects, programmes and risks. It helps users adopt, use share and shape the application of OGC PPM Products. Its members come from both the public and private sectors and include representatives from the MoD, the NHS, local and central government, the financial sector, IT and telecoms. Members typically come from project and programme management roles including project and programme support offices. BPUG in the UK has teamed up with user groups based in the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. Further details at http://www.usergroup.org.uk/.

NASA’s Goddard Space Center in the USA has announced the time and location for the NASA Project Management (PM) Challenge 2008.

WHEN: February 26-27, 2008
WHERE: Hilton Oceanfront Hotel, Daytona Beach, Florida
THEME: Reach Higher
REGISTRATION OPENS: November 1, 2007

PM Challenge is sponsored by the NASA Office of the Chief Engineer, the NASA Academy of Program/Project & Engineering Leadership (APPEL), and the NASA Office of Safety & Mission Assurance. Conference Co-Chairs are Dorothy Tiffany and Walt Majerowicz. WEBSITE: http://pmchallenge.gsfc.nasa.gov/

Created by The National Aeronautics and Space Act in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is America’s focal point for research, development and exploration of outer space. On January 14, 2004, President Bush announced “A Renewed Spirit of Discovery: The President’s Vision for U.S. Space Exploration”, a new directive for the USA’s space exploration program. In accordance with that directive and the NASA Authorization Act of 2005, the US President and Congress committed the United States to exploring the solar system and beyond: completing assembly of the International Space Station, flying the new Crew Exploration Vehicle no later than 2014, returning astronauts to the moon by the end of the next decade, and sending human missions to Mars and beyond. For nearly 50 years, NASA has been leading the world in the development and usage of advanced program and project management. Additional information about NASA can be found at www.nasa.gov

The Happy Projects'08 "PROJECTS & SALES" will follow the 25 year tradition of the former pm days and will take place from the 29th to 30th May 2008 in the attractive Tech Gate Vienna as Austria’s biggest international project management event.

The happy projects’08 conference is expected to attract more than 320 international project and process management researchers and practitioners to Vienna. International top experts will present the main topic of the conference “PROJECTS & SALES” in interactive workshops, presentations, case studies of process- and project-oriented companies, panel discussions and round tables.

International pm researchers and practitioners, young pm professionals and pm students who are interested in advancing the state of project and process management are invited to participate in the happy projects’08. The conference is being organised by the ROLAND GAREIS CONSULTING in cooperation with the PROJEKTMANAGEMENT GROUP.

Academic workshop

In the yearly organised academic workshop on 28th May 2008, international researchers and professors will discuss the most recent trends of project and process management in education and research.

Learn from the Best!

Four expert seminars on 31st May 2008 will offer the excellent possibility to further develop knowledge about programme and project portfolio management, auditing, assessment centers in project-oriented companies, and international project and programme management approaches – in comparison. International top trainers as well as networking in a group of experienced seminar participants are just two reasons for participating in these seminars.

For further information regarding the programme, registration modalities etc. please visit the homepage www.happyprojects.at or contact the project manager Ms. Claudia Fehrerberger (claudia.fehrerberger@rgc.at).