Professional Skills - Project Management

1.5 EC

Semester 1 & 2, period 1, 4

5224PSPM2Y

Owner Master Biological Sciences
Coordinator C.M. Nijnens MSc
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Course manual 2024/2025

Course content

This Professional Skills ‘Project Management’ course focuses on the basics of project management; how to initiate and plan projects and keep control of the process. You will learn about the 4 essential stages of project management (initiating, planning, executing,  and closing), practice writing crucial project management documents, and explore scheduling tools. In addition, the different approaches to project management (waterfall vs agile) will be discussed and project management challenges discovered.

Each session focuses on a specific stage of project management.

  • Session 1: initiating a project
  • Session 2: planning a project
  • Session 3: executing a project
  • Session 4: closing a project

Before each session you will complete a preparatory assignment (reading and/or exercise) and each session will be followed by a homework assignment (assignments 1, 2, 3 and 4). Assignment 3 (‘meet and greet a project manager’) starts in session 1 and runs throughout the course. In this assignment you will (in small groups) hold an interview with a project manager and present the information you have gathered in the final session.

Study materials

Literature

  • Selected chapters from McBride, Melanie. Project Management Basics: How to Manage Your Project with Checklists. Berkeley, CA: Apress L. P, 2016. Web.

Other

  • Selected (on-line) resources available on Canvas page

Objectives

  • Develop a project definition (scope statement).
  • Create a project schedule.
  • Identify project management challenges.
  • Reflect on own project management skills and knowledge.

Teaching methods

  • Self-study
  • Workgroups
  • (awareness building) exercises
  • (writing) assignments
  • Reflection

Learning activities

Activity

Hours

  

Workgroups

8

  

Self study

34

  

Total

42

(1.5 EC x 28 uur)

Attendance

Requirements of the programme concerning attendance (OER-B):

  1. Attendance during practical components exercises is mandatory.

Additional requirements for this course:

All sessions are planned on campus (we do not offer hybrid sessions). Participation during the four sessions is mandatory. If you are not able to join one of the sessions, contact the course coordinator to discuss your possibilities of passing the course (missing more than 1 session will result in a negative assessment (fail) of the course).

Assessment

Item and weight Details

Final grade

Assignment 4: REFLECTION REPORT

Must be ≥ 55

The course is assessed with pass/fail based on a rubric (see Canvas). 

Assignments

There are 4 assignments. Assignment 1, 2 & 4 are individual, assignment 3 is (partly) a group assignment.

Fraud and plagiarism

The 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' applies to this course. This will be monitored carefully. Upon suspicion of fraud or plagiarism the Examinations Board of the programme will be informed. For the 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' see: www.student.uva.nl

Contact information

Coordinator

  • C.M. Nijnens MSc