Transition year students from 3 local secondary schools in the Mid West region were represented as part of only 30 students nominated to take part in a PM Skills for Life Innovation Camp which was held in Dell EMC on Thursday 17th May.
The Innovation Camp celebrated young project managers from the Mid West region who have excelled during the completion of the PM Skills for Life programme, a collaborative initiative between the Project Management Institute Educational Foundation (PMIEF) and JAI.
During the Innovation Camp students enjoyed a masterclass with Project Managers in Dell EMC, who spoke about the importance of project management in the modern workforce. Students completed an advanced project management workshop, which took place in the ‘Thinkubator’ and shared their key learnings as project managers.
The PM Skills for Life programme enabled students to understand, plan, carry out, monitor and evaluate a project of their own with the support of a project management professional. 580 transition year students from 18 schools across Ireland took part this year.
Participating students also completed PMIEF’s student badging programme, in which they sat an examination to assess their project management knowledge acquisition and retention. On successful completion 48 students in the Mid West region were awarded the Fundamentals of Project Management digital badge, which verifies their project management proficiency.
As part of their programme students from Castletroy College organised a very successful fundraiser to raise money for the homeless, students from Ardscoil Mhuire in Corbally organised a Junk Couture fashion show for 1st year students to celebrate International Women’s Day while students from St. Caimin’s Community School organised a very successful fundraising Bingo night. All events were organised from conception to completion by the students as they put into practice the project management skills they learned through the PM Skills for Life programme.
Geraldine McGrath TY Coordinator Castletroy College said: “The students now have an excellent understanding of project management and developed key communication, teamwork and presentation skills. I would like to thank volunteers Eoghan Toomey, Aisling Brennan, and Orla Mullane from Dell EMC for taking the time to work with our students. I would also like to thank Dell EMC for hosting the Innovation Camp which really underlined the importance and relevance of project management in their company.”
Jeannette L. Barr, PMIEF Executive Director, said: “In the 21st century, the demand for skilled project managers is at an all-time high as organisations continue to focus on higher productivity and greater customer satisfaction with minimum resources. The PMI Educational Foundation is delighted to have joined with Junior Achievement Ireland to educate students on the importance of project management as a skill set they will need for college, career, and lifelong success.”
Helen Raftery, CEO of Junior Achievement Ireland, said: “We are grateful to PMIEF for the resources to run this initiative, and appreciate all of the time and expertise of our expert project management volunteers to promote student learning. Project management is both a practical 21st century life skill as well as critical business skill. Through experiential learning and a hands-on introduction to project management these students are better prepared for future success and have developed skills that will be beneficial to them irrespective of the career path they choose.”