Established in 2001, U21Global offers globally-recognized online graduate programs. It is a joint venture between Universitas 21, an international network of 19 leading research-intensive universities in 11 countries, and Thomson Learning solutions. With headquarters in Singapore, U21 Global now also has offices in Bangalore, Dubai, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai, New Delhi, and Shanghai. More information can be found at http://www.u21global.com/Education/home .
According to the U21 Global website: The Executive Certificate of IT Project Management and Outsourcing is a four-subject programme that is designed to arm you with knowledge that provides a sound theoretical and applied basis for IT project management and outsourcing, areas that are increasingly becoming intertwined. If you do not have the time or inclination to enroll immediately into the MMIT or Diploma programme, this four-subject Certificate programme may be what you need to acquire a general understanding of IT project management and outsourcing. It also provides a progression path for those who have completed single unit study, but who are not yet ready to embark on the full MMIT programme. More information can be found at http://www.u21global.com/Education/Programme/IT/Project_Management.
Sources for this article:
http://www.u21global.com/Education/home; and
http://www.mbauniverse.com
IIL to Enter Chinese Project Management Marketplace
with New Offices in Beijing & Hong Kong
The International Institute for Learning (IIL), based in New York City, has announced that it has formed new companies and is launching new offices in Beijing and Hong Kong. According to the company’s press release on May 9, 2007, Dr. Harold Kerzner, well known American author and authority on project management, will deliver Best Practices Seminars there in August to commemorate the occasion.
Dr. Kerzner will commemorate the launch of IIL China with a seminar in Beijing on August 13, 2007. His best practices seminar in Hong Kong on August 15 will commemorate the launch of IIL Hong Kong.
During the seven-hour seminar, Dr. Kerzner will reveal new techniques companies are using for capturing best practices, and will demonstrate why companies are implementing best practice libraries, knowledge repositories, project management offices and centers of excellence in project management.
According to E. LaVerne Johnson, IIL Founder and CEO, " Dr. Kerzner has been working with IIL since its establishment in 1991 . We could think of no better way to make it known that we have arrived in this part of the world than to bring Dr. Kerzner and his outstanding research and exploration of global best practices with him,"
"Our new global companies are ready to receive and expand upon the interest that is being generated by IIL's dramatic entry into this exploding marketplace," she stated.
Additional information about the Kerzner seminars and new IIL offices can be found at http://www.iil.com/china or http://www.iil.com/hongkong .
International Institute for Learning, Inc. (IIL) is global leader in Project, Program and Portfolio Management, Microsoft(R) Project, Six Sigma and Business Analysis training and consulting, IIL provides enterprise-wide learning solutions that can be custom tailored to organizations' specific business needs. Visit http://www.iil.com/ to learn more. IIL also owns http://www.allpm.com/, the free resource for project managers around the globe, as well as IIL Publishing, New York, which publishes quality books with next-generation solutions.
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Bovis Lend Lease Discusses Global Projects
and PM in Bucharest
Reported by Florin Gheorghiu, PMP International Correspondent in Romania
On May the 9th BOVIS Lend Lease, one of the world’s leading Project and Construction Management companies, finished a two day presentation on worldwide opportunities for large EPC Projects throughout the world with emphasize on recent Middle East openings. A group of five British officials backed up by their Romanian local office representative had invited attendees to the Hilton Hotel in downtown Bucharest City to learn how BOVIS operates in the world, what its intention in the short term are, and what big openings for the highly skilled Project Managers are on the table nowadays.
Founded in London back in 1885, Bovis pioneered the principles of fee-based construction projects. Listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, Lend Lease operates in five continents, with a significant presence in the United States, Europe, Asia Pacific and South America.
The two days workshop was aimed to capture the local public’s attention on the Company’s strong points with regard to Project Management within EPC Projects, as well as to find potential resources –Project Managers, Cost Controllers, M&E Engineers- for ongoing and upcoming projects especially in the Middle East region.
It was reported that the major services the Company is providing to its Clients are:
Program Management
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Project Management
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Construction Management
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Design Management
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Cost Management
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Planning & Scheduling
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Due Diligence
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Consultancy Services
The company has had previous experiences in the Romania, having entered the market in 2000. During recent years major construction projects were completed, including the Cascade Park Plaza, Bucharest, Romania, and Project Bran Pharmaceutical Plant, Brasov, Romania. Abroad the Company is renowned for recent accomplishments on the BPB Rigips Factory in Termoli, Italy; Integrated Air Traffic Control Centre in Prague, Czech Republic; and Shell Headquarters, The Hague, Nederlands. Lately, the recent growth and potential of the Romanian market has made BOVIS attentive to the Eastern and Central European Market, and a key place is Romania and its surrounding markets.
Extremely scarce with naming the projects that are ongoing or close to be contracted, BOVIS officials inferred that Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi are major destinations for those who will ultimately embark on board. The audience was pleased and eager to go further with reviewing the opportunities and some of them expressed their intention to get a contract for a project under BOVIS logo in the region.
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Hill International Acquires KJM & Associates
Hill International, the worldwide project management and construction consulting firm, has announced that it has acquired KJM & Associates, Ltd., a Bellevue, Washington, USA-based firm that provides project management and project controls services throughout the United States. The transaction was effective on May 1, 2007.
According to the Hill press release, KJM's largest clients include the U.S. Federal Transit Administration, the Washington State Department of Transportation, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority, the City of Phoenix, the Port of Seattle, the Texas Turnpike Authority, Washington State University and Puget Sound Energy. The acquired company will continue to operate under the KJM brand name for a short period until its operations have been consolidated with Hill's. For its fiscal year ended December 31, 2006, KJM's unaudited financial results included total revenues of $16.4 million, gross profit of $7.3 million, and operating profit of $1.3 million. As of April 30, 2007, KJM had total backlog estimated at $21 million.
"We are very excited about the acquisition of KJM, which will give us a much stronger presence in some of the fastest-growing states in the U.S., including Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona and Texas," said Irvin E. Richter, Hill's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "KJM has a great reputation in our industry, particularly in the transportation and education markets, and we believe that their professionals will be a great addition to the Hill team”.
According to Karen Mask, KJM’s President and CEO, "We are extremely pleased to become a part of Hill International. Hill, being the leading program and construction management firm in the world, provided a perfect fit for KJM. The acquisition and integration of our talented resources and valuable clients will afford the opportunity to provide services on larger programs and international projects.”
The purchase price was $9.35 million, consisting of $8.35 million in cash plus 136,593 shares of Hill restricted common stock. In addition to retaining her current position with KJM, Mask will also become a Senior Vice President with Hill. Prior to the sale of KJM to Hill, Mask owned 100% of the stock of KJM.
KJM & Associates, founded in 1986, provides program management, project management, construction management, project controls, cost engineering, cost estimating, scheduling, document control, information management systems, value engineering, constructability reviews, quality assurance and inspection services. KJM's more than 120 employees operate out of nine offices throughout the United States. For more information on KJM, please visit their website at www.kjmassoc.com.
Hill International, together with KJM, has 1,500 employees in 70 offices providing program management, project management, construction management, and construction claims services worldwide. Engineering News-Record magazine recently ranked Hill as the 17th largest construction management firm in the United States. For more information on Hill, visit www.hillintl.com.
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New US Government Policy Requires Certification
for Program and Project Managers in Civilian Agencies
A major new policy has been issued by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Executive Office of the President of the United States. Issued under a Memorandum for Chief Acquisition Officers on the subject of “The Federal Acquisition Certification for Program and Project Managers”, the policy states that certification is required for program and project managers that are assigned to major acquisitions as defined in OMB Circular A-11, Part 7, Exhibit 300, Planning, Budgeting, Acquisition, and Management of Capital Assets. The policy memo is dated April 25, 2007.
Attached to the policy memo, and incorporated by reference, is a 20-page document entitled “Federal Acquisition Certification for Program and Project Managers (FAC-P/PM)”. The purpose of the FAC-P/PM is to establish general training and experience requirements for program and project managers in civilian agencies (of the US government).
According to the policy memo, the Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI) led an interagency working group to develop common competencies for the program and project management community within the US government. The program will be administered by each civilian agency, with the FAI conducting periodic reviews to ensure that the FAC-P/PM program is being managed consistently. The program document includes a list of required competencies and educational elements that program and project managers will now need to satisfy. Program and project managers assigned to information technology (IT) investments must also meet the technical requirements of the Federal IT Project Manager Guidance Matrix.
The policy memo refers to online and classroom courses offered by private vendors, the Defense Acquisition University and other government agencies that address many of the competencies required by the new policy. FAI also plans to offer additional PM training in early FY 2008. The FAI partnered with twenty US federal agencies to recommend the competencies and framework for this new program.
A report on the working group’s efforts can be found at http://www.fai.gov/policies/sturep.asp.
A copy of the new policy memorandum and FAC-P/PM can be viewed in PDF format at http://www.pmforum.org/library/reports/207/fed_acq_cert_42507.pdf
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APIC announces Project Management Internship Scheme
The Asia Pacific International College (APIC), based in Sydney, Australia, has announced a new Project Management Internship Scheme (PMIS) to offer a solution to shortages of project management professionals in industry and government. According to the APIC announcement, there is an apparent shortage of project management professionals across the various branches of industry in Australia and in the Asia Pacific region. This situation, if unchecked can have adverse impacts on project outcomes. The Project Management Internship Scheme (PMIS) offers a cost effective solution to organisations and can attract new talent into project and program management profession.
Under the PMIS suitably qualified young professionals will be invited to become interns in the APIC’s Graduate Program in Business and Project Management (GPBPM), and undergo training through APIC’s courses and project-based learning. Interns will be placed with the participating organisations while completing their internship under the normal employers’ terms and conditions. They work on projects with a reduced workload to permit them to complete their training.
Participating companies will be able to employ the interns during or after completion of their courses if desired, though it is advisable to allow the interns to complete as a minimum the Graduate Certificate in Project Management. It will be a matter for the prospective organisations to decide whether to offer their interns an appropriate job in Australia or overseas. Interns may also be selected by employer organisations under a separate process subject to the APIC admission requirements for those aspiring to earn a formal academic degree.
Interns will be responsible for their own tuition fees. They may encourage a participating organisation to sponsor them to pay their tuition fees on their behalf. That will be a private and individual arrangement and APIC will not get involved.
Scheme Advantages
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The internship scheme is a win-win low risk scheme that can benefit all sides
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It provides an opportunity to train professional PM staff systemically
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It is a cost effective method to attract new talent into the PM field, particularly women
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Interns can earn recognised qualifications at the end of internship
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APIC will manage the scheme systemically at no cost to employers, including provision of one-on-one mentoring and access to the APIC’s online knowledge bank
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APIC will provide flexible competency and project-based courses tailored to the needs of interns and sponsor organisation
Any organisation operating in Australia may join the PMIS. There is no special condition and no obligation to continue with the PMIS either, subject to the terms of the sponsorship agreement. Sponsors employ the interns as per their internal HR policies and procedures, place them on suitable projects and pay them a reasonable internship allowance. Interns will work in a normal fashion for their sponsor organisations while undergoing professional development through APIC’s Graduate Program in Business and Project Management. Since the GPBPM is a flexible and substantially online program, interns are able to balance their work and study commitments. As the emphasis is on quality, it is planned to accept a maximum of 20 interns initially.
Women as Project Managers
Women are not well represented in the project management profession. APIC wants to encourage women to sign up as interns, particularly those who wish to return to full time work after a long break for family or other reasons.
The College has a number of qualified candidates to offer to prospective employers at no cost. Please contact us via email (apicollege@apicollege.com) and or via phone 02 8920 9688 if of interest. Alternatively you may wish to introduce your own interns to the College. APIC sees its role as that of providing professional education, training, diagnostic and research services to industry, business and government worldwide. Asia Pacific International College, ABN 61048 101 488, is an Australian Higher Education Institution. Additional information about APIC can be found at www.apicollege.com.
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Does Advancing Technology Mean Increasing
Project Management? The Answer May Be "Yes"
in the Integrated Circuit Design Industry!
According to an article published in EE Times Asia on Tuesday, 24 April, "project management can be expected to make up 20 to 25 percent of integrated circuit (IC) design costs at 65nm, almost double the costs at 90nm". Due to the increase in data set sizes crossing multiple global sites, IC designs now require more infrastructure than what conventional data-management systems can provide.
According to the article, with current methods designers and design groups face lengthy tagging times, protracted check-in and check-out times and difficulties with assembling and reusing existing components without complex scripting. Teams also encounter corruption from glitches during data transfers over global networks, caused by file-by-file transfer operations, and experience challenges in sharing collateral when they use separate configuration management systems for HW/SW development.
From a global design perspective, designs groups in different geographic regions face different problems. These include the inability to handle large binary objects quickly and the inability to efficiently combine data from multiple sites. Designers (worldwide) can also be locked out during back-ups and face the difficulty in implementing disaster recovery plan.
While the EE Times Asia article was primarily intended to announce a new Global Design Platform (GDP) from IC Manage, said to be the first data-management solution to offer design assembly, derivative management and real-time worldwide delivery, PMForum noted the comments about project management. The mentioned GDP product includes features for IT integration (for hot backup), high availability and disaster recovery for 24 x 7 enterprise availability, high-performance revision control, configuration management and multi-site collaboration capabilities. In other words, the new product is to help improve PM on complex integrated circuit design projects with global team members. The GDP solution is promoted as enabling companies to efficiently manage, locate, assemble and reuse design data and IP across the enterprise during all design phases.
"A design team's ability to collaborate efficiently across a global network throughout the design process is vital to meeting their project goals," said Dean Drako, president and CEO, IC Manage. "With today's dramatic increase in data volume, only a transaction-based approach with derivative tracking will let companies achieve around-the-clock, high reliability, design collaboration efficiencies."
We at PMForum believe that the semiconductor and integrated circuit design industries represent important markets for advanced project management applications and methodologies. As these industries continue applying Moore’s Law to obtain higher computing power with smaller and smaller integrated circuits, the complexities also increase. The demand for better and more sophisticated project management can also be expected to increase in this sector.
Source: http://www.eetasia.com/ART_8800462106_480100_cae63424200704_no.HTM
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Annual Primavera Conference Announced for October in Florida
The Primavera 24th Annual Conference will take place October 21 - 24, 2007 at the Walt Disney World Dolphin in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The Primavera Annual Conference is an annual educational forum for our software users to update their product knowledge, network with their project management peers and meet Primavera employees. Conference highlights will include hands-on learning, project profiles and a multitude of educational and technical tracks.
According to the Primavera website, attendees can plan to:
- Hear about real-life project management solutions and lessons learned from colleagues
- Participate in roundtable discussions
- Network with peers from other companies
- Choose from a multitude of educational and technical tracks devoted to the project management issues
- Discuss project management solutions with Primavera staff and partners
Project Management Professionals Can Earn PDUs
Primavera Systems supports the ongoing professional development of Project Management Professionals (PMPs) and the maintenance of PMP® certification. By attending the keynote speech and technical program presentations, PMPs may qualify for up to 14 Professional Development Units (PDUs) at the 2007 Primavera Annual Conference.
AACE Members Can Earn CEU’s
AACE International recognizes the Primavera Conference for recertification credits – which are good for any of AACE’s Certifications (CCC/CCE/EVP/PSP). One recertification credit is awarded for each ten (10) hours of the Conference that candidates attend. Participation in the entire Conference, including the Keynote Sessions, will give candidates 14 Professional Development Hours, or 1.4 recertification credits.
For additional information, visit http://www.primavera.com/customer/conference/index.asp
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New Fixed-Price Contracts to Endanger Employment
in Irish Construction Industry
Reported by Ed Naughton PMP International Correspondent in Dublin
Following extensive negotiations between the industry and the Department of Finance, the Government introduced new construction contracts in February of 2007. They apply to all construction projects funded directly or indirectly by the Exchequer or by other State funding and will cover an estimated annual spend of €8bn.
From the Government’s perspective, the purpose of the new contracts is to obtain a fixed price, which will not be adjusted and will give the Government greater certainty of financial outturn for construction projects.
Many believe that small and medium-sized construction firms in the construction sector are in danger of being put out of business by these new Government fixed-price contracts. Its impact will be most keenly felt by those who will simply be unable to take on the risks involved with the contract.
The entire construction industry, including construction professionals, materials suppliers and construction contracts, have warned the Government that this is not a prudent course of action and will almost certainly result in the Government paying more for projects and getting diminished value for money.
They believe that the new contracts leave no room for flexibility in the event of unforeseen events. All eventualities have to be priced for at the tender stage, meaning that there can be no leeway later on if specifications change, working hours are curtailed, significant archaeology is unearthed, oil prices rise or any other number of variables present themselves.
The industry also advised the Government that if it is intent on adopting a risk-transfer model, it should best be done using standard international forms of contract, which have been tried and tested in the international marketplace.
However, the Government have written their own new contract and it may take several years and many legal disputes before the parties to the contract have certainty as to its meaning.
The contracts will affect about 65% of the market and it is not an option for most contractors to opt out. To do so would seriously diminish their order books and probably results in financial ruin. At the same time, acceptance of work on these terms may well have the same result.
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More Nuclear Power Plant Projects?
New Energy White Paper Triggers Public Debate in UK!
Reported by Miles Shepherd PMP International Correspondent in London
On 23 May 2007, the UK Government released its new Energy White Paper, which backs a big rise in renewable energy and new measures to help people to cut electricity use. The paper claims the "preliminary view" is to build new nuclear power plants, but a final decision will not be taken until a full public consultation ends in October.
Meanwhile, dominating the headlines has been Labour's strong commitment to nuclear as a long-term power option. Prime Minister Tony Blair has been adamant to MPs that nuclear is necessary for carbon emission cuts and security of supply. With the UK's own oil supply dwindling, the Government is increasingly conscious of over-relying on foreign exports for its energy needs.
Other White paper measures mentioned included:
- Free visual "real time" displays on request, to show homeowners how much electricity they use.
- Working with industry to "phase out" inefficient goods and energy-consuming standby switches.
- Tougher environmental standards for new build homes, and other products.
- Start searching for suitable sites for new nuclear plants - based on assumption environmental impact is not "significantly different" to other forms of energy generation.
- Triple the amount of electricity from renewable sources such as wind and wave by 2015.
- Encourage more research into green transport, carbon capture and tidal energy.
- Encourage mining of UK coal where it is economically and environmentally appropriate to reduce reliance on exports.
Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Dowling (pictured left) denounced critics of nuclear energy as 'daft', and told Parliament it was in the public interest to allow the building of new nuclear power stations. But he stressed that support for nuclear did not mean the government had abandoned R&D for low-carbon technologies.
Opposition has been swift and cross-party. In a letter published in the Guardian, a group of Labour, Lib Dem and SNP MPs warn that "we should not be politically panicked into accepting a technology that poses a continuing risk in terms of weapons proliferation and terrorism, produces a toxic waste for which no management solution is agreed, benefits from hidden subsidies and tends to undermine the prospects of renewable energy and efforts to increase efficiency". The letter, also signed by Friends of the Earth, said it was a "myth" that the lights would go out or that Britain would be far less dependent on gas imports without nuclear power.
ICE has supported nuclear as one facet of an ongoing energy hierarchy, which was outlined in ICE's 2006 response to DTI's energy consultation. Many of the points raised by Darling, including the importance of security and diversification of supply, were outlined in this document. Further papers on the options for future energy supplies can be found in the new Energy journal.
For further information about the publication, visit:
http://www.gnn.gov.uk/environment
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