University of Sydney launches short program management course

The University of Sydney is the first university in Australia to launch a short program management course: a 6-day course instead of the 3-4-year academic programs other universities currently offer.

The university recently undertook research examining the program and project management courses delivered at 85 universities across the world. Early research suggests that only four—Oxford University, Stanford University, The University of Sydney and University of New South Wales’ Australian Defence Force Academy—were teaching advanced concepts.

The University of Sydney’s third pilot program management course allows students to opt to receive a globally recognised certificate in Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) training through the ILX Group. The global project management education provider will supply the e-learning component of the course.

“Several universities offer program management courses over a number of years, however they don’t always have industry recognised certificates included. Sydney University is leading Australia in this sector by integrating into their course an industry recognised MSP certificate,” said Michelle Phillips, country manager for Australia and New Zealand for ILX Group.

ILX Group also delivers project management content and courses to senior management and students located at several universities across Australia and overseas.

Designed for experienced managers rather than undergraduate-level students, the short program management course better equips senior management personnel with the tools to manage projects more productively, said Dr Raymond Young, a project and program manager researcher specialising in understanding project failure.

“Senior management needs to focus on other factors that are currently poorly addressed. These include project analysis prior to commencement to determine what success means for the venture, and their direct involvement from day one in all major decision making processes to ensure the project is focused on the organisation’s big picture goals.”

Young’s research shows that two-thirds of projects should never have started because they didn’t deliver anything of strategic value, even if they met time and budget requirements.

“In Australia, over $10 billion is spent annually on IT projects of which $7 billion is wasted,” said Young. “Gross domestic product could increase by one-to-three percent nationally if IT projects were more competently managed.”

He added that the new course had the advantage of requiring a shorter time span to teach these concepts. “The advanced training concepts that ILX Group uses in its online programs further enhance students’ learning experiences, also allowing them to learn in a six-to-nine hour time period. Traditionally it would have taken at least three lectures to teach this content.”

ILX Group is looking to provide the University of Sydney with project management content, which will include the option of PRINCE2 certification.

It will also look to expand to other universities as MSP becomes more widely adopted in Australia within government and the corporate sector.

“In future months, the ILX Group expects many more universities across Australia to incorporate PRINCE2 and MSP courses into their course options,” said Phillips.