Project Management for Academics
Interested in understanding project management in the context of academia? This course offers an in-depth look at project management practices within academic environments, highlighting how they contrast with those in other industries. We will focus on the distinctive aspects of managing research projects and evaluate the potential advantages of learning from strategies outside academia to enhance project management in academia.
Main content
Course objective
Participants will leave the course with in-depth knowledge of project management in academic settings and practical tools that will enhance their project management skills, including:
- Participants will receive an introduction to project management methodology, covering the basics of the field.
- A detailed comparison of project management within academic institutions and in other sectors.
- Insights into risk management specifically for research projects, including strategies to identify and mitigate risks throughout the project lifecycle.
Course description
Knowing how a project is structured and how different project types can vary along different dimensions is essential for understanding the concept of project management. In this course, we place research projects within a wider project management context, to give you a fuller understanding of how they are unique and what kind of tools you need to effectively manage them – both inside and outside of academia. The demand for "classic" project management principles and methods in research activities is growing, with sectors outside of academia leading the charge. Research projects are inherently complex and uncertain, often involving significant levels of creativity and innovation, making predicting outcomes challenging.
Given these challenges, this module will address the following critical issues:
- The similarities and differences between "classic" and research project management.
- How to conceptualize a research project and what kind of project management it requires.
- Elevated risk levels in research projects and strategies for minimizing these risks.
Throughout the module, participants will gain an overview of fundamental project management principles and learn how to apply these to academic research settings. By the end of the module, participants will be equipped with insights and tools to successfully manage research projects despite their inherent complexities.
Target group
Suitable for Ph.d.’s, postdocs and other early-stage researchers who wants to learn more about project management methodology and how research projects differ from "regular" projects in other sectors.
Language
English
Duration
The duration of this course is 2,5 hours.
Facilitators
Hiwa Målen, Senior Adviser at the Division of Research and Innovation (FIA), UiB
Guest speaker from industry
