Overview

Background

The Association for Project Management (APM) is the leading professional organisation supporting the project profession in the UK.  The activities of APM include providing qualifications, events, resources and research.

The Information Services Project, Programme, and Portfolio Office (PMO) recognises the value of APM and its resources for the University and has a corporate partnership with APM which provides value to staff but which cannot be used by students.

Instead, APM offer a free individual membership to all students whilst they are studying – both part time and full time.  More information is available here:

Student Membership | APM

The PMO frequently provides training and workshops for our students and we are aware that the APM resources would be very helpful to students across all disciplines, however the majority of students are unaware of the opportunity to join APM.  We therefore need to make this opportunity more visible to students.

Many APM resources use Project Management terminology that may not be understandable to students and therefore there is a need to make these resources more accessible and easy to use for those with no prior knowledge of Project Management.

Scope

• Understanding what resources are available to students, as resources available to staff through the corporate partnership will differ
• Establishing the most effective methods of communicating resources to students
• Creating tools to help students identify APM resources available to them as well as how to access them
• Creating documents detailing student APM resources for use in future PMO Project Management workshops for students

Out of scope

• Direct communication to students promoting APM resources
• Running APM or Project Management Workshops or events
• Contacting APM to discuss student resources 

Objectives and Deliverables

Benefits

• Increased understanding of project management for students, supporting the delivery of personal and group projects during their studies
• Valuable professional development opportunities for students to support their career post University
• Clearer understanding of what resources are available to who, which can help the PMO in their promotion of APM's resources to students and staff
• Promoting APM to students can allow for the opportunity for students to develop their knowledge outside the curriculum and therefore these resources are likely to increase student satisfaction

Success Criteria

• Project is delivered by 14th August 2024
• APM guidance for students is clearer to students, making use of the platform by students much more likely as well as making the resources APM provides more accessible.
• Delivery of tools demonstrating the purposes and benefits of APM resources for students
• Delivery of a long term APM student communication plan to promote further projects or initiatives raising student interest in APM
• Clear understanding that students cannot access corporate partner resources

Project Milestones