100 Transition Year (TY) students from around the country enjoyed showcasing their newly-acquired project management skills at the PM Skills for Life Innovation Camp in the iconic Thomond Park Stadium, Limerick on 3rd May.
During the 2016/17 school year 500 transition year students from 15 schools across Carlow, Clare, Cork, Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Waterford have been learning about Project Management. PM Skills for Life is a 4-module programme facilitated by industry volunteers to bring TY students through the core principles of project management. It is a collaborative initiative between the Project Management Institute Educational Foundation (PMIEF) and JAI.
The Innovation Camp in Thomond Park brought together young project managers from all over the country who have excelled during the completion of the programme with expert PM volunteers from Dell, Northern Trust, Stryker and Shannon Engine Support to participate in a masterclass and complete a challenge. To get the day off to the best possible start, the students, their mentors and teachers in attendance heard from rugby legend David Wallace. Reflecting on his experiences with Munster, Ireland and the Lions, David shared his views on the factors that contribute to building an environment in which success can be achieved.
David, who was recently appointed as Business Development Manager for Bank of Ireland in the Munster region, remarked: “The projects undertaken as part of the PM Skills for Life programme embody qualities like ambition, excellence, integrity and community. These are the values which brought us such success during my time with Munster Rugby and it’s great to see them reflected in the choices, which the students made in applying themselves to their projects.”
Ethna Lyons, teacher in Laurel Hill Secondary School FCJ whose class had completed the PM Skills for Life programme, commented that “Having volunteers like Paul McMahon & Andy Cunningham from Dell come into the school to complete the PM Skills for Life programme was absolutely brilliant. The programme, including today’s Innovation Camp will, I believe, underlines for the students that they can successfully manage a project and overcome any challenge that they might encounter.”
Those ideas on developing successful teams were put immediately to use in the course of the innovation camp where students worked in small groups with their peers from all over to the country to complete a challenge as part of their advanced project management workshop.
PMIEF Grants Manager Michelle Armstrong who attended the event said: “In the 21st century, the demand for skilled project managers is at an all-time high as organisations 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.”
Students were delighted to be given the chance to visit the Thomond Park Museum which completed an exciting day for them as well as their teachers and mentors.
