It Is Finished

Or is it? I just turned in my 15,000 word research paper which is my biggest body of work towards the fulfillment of the requirements for a Master of Science in Project Management. For the first one hour after the submission, I was thrilled. There is an overwhelming sense of relief that comes from knowing that something so large was finally finished. Then the adrenalin slows down, and you realise that this is really only the beginning. You see, I have been told that I tend to over-analyse things.I laugh when I hear this because I know that it is true.

Graduates. Source:www.telegraph.co.uk

My research was on Knowledge Management in virtual project teams. these are two areas that are certainly emerging, under-researched, and more than anything else, not integrated in the literature and barely in practice. I consider myself a bit of a knowledge management expert right now as I researched KM for the last three years.I found that people are very quick to link KM to technology, whereas it is really about people and knowledge acquisition and distribution for the realization of an organisation's objectives. It is so diverse and could mean so much in so many different forms; strategy development, governance and transformation. I am very pleased that this body of work in finished.

|Furthermore, I received an email from the university informing me of a date for my graduation ceremony (all provisional of course pending the confirmation of my grades). My slot is July 21st. When I received the email, I quickly rang my parents to check that their flights had been booked. I spoke to a few friends about graduation and we all seem to have the same dates. People were talking about dresses and shoes and hair styles for the day. I am really not thinking about those things at the moment, I am still obsessing about results, as I always do.  

Sample offer of employment. Source:www.documetica--forms.com.

Back to the submission of my biggest piece of work. With it has come feelings of melancholy and the big what next questions. I suppose in some ways I know exactly what I want and where to go from here, but sometimes those next steps require time, work and patience. This course has prepared me for project life cycle work, end to end project design, implementation and close out.I just have to find the opportunities and grab them with both hands. So the next steps really is to find an excellent job within project management in international development. My search begins tomorrow really after the fantastic party planned by the University for students who just finalised their final projects. I sent my RSVP in for that already. I am really looking forward to unwinding and enjoying the gathering of friends, faculty, food and drinks at the PG centre tomorrow. Photos from that at the next post.

But today, I shall reward myself with some wine, a good movie and a good night's sleep.Keep well everyone

My Business School Experience: Linking Academia to Practice

For the last couple of weeks, I have been working in a team of six to deliver a real life project; akin to one which I could be tasked with as a project manager in the future. This project involves an external client and the project mandate requires that an event is designed which has 150 medium and large businesses in attendance. Our responsibility lies in assembling a Project Initiation document (PiD) which speaks to the business case, and within that identify quality, risks, stakeholders, work breakdown structure, and all that good stuff associated with delivering a project. Thereafter, deliver the project.

It has been an eye opening experience working in a diverse team of people with varied expectations and skills set. Add the pressure of dealing with a demanding client, and the complications of working sometimes in a virtual team, and what you have is an excellent preparation for working on project teams. In executing this project, we are utilising the PRINCE2 methodology and it feels good to use something which I only recently studied and wrote the qualification examinations for. This is the first time that I have developed a quality management strategy, a risk management strategy, and a stakeholder communication and management plan for a real life project, and it feels very fulfilling. This is the best part of my time here I think; the business school’s attempt to link students to actual practice.

One can feel far removed from the business world when buried in theories and research, this project serves to bridge the gap between academia and practice. It is an opportunity to try out the many methodologies which we have worked through. In addition, we are engaging with senior managers and CEOs of companies who have offered great advise and suggestions on how to take our career forward after the master’s, and what the market is like at the moment. In the coming weeks, I shall post updates on the milestones we have set and how/if we have met deadlines or not. 

In the interim, keep well.

PRINCE2, Internship and Next Steps

For the last couple for months, I have been searching for a job within the Luton and Beds areas. To yield more results, I extended my search to London in the hopes of finding a good student opportunity which could build my experience and provide a little bit extra cash (every student needs some extra cash). Anyway, I did find some opportunities and attended a few interviews, but none of them was the right fit for me; too long a commute or more hours per week than I could manage. 

Fortunately, the University has an internship scheme; a 75 hour placement either within the university or within a business in the Luton, Herts and Beds area. I sent my CV in to the Internship office, attended a few excellent workshops on tips for CV writing and interviewing, and voila, yours truly is now commencing a 75hr placement within the university. The best part of this is that I have flexible hours so that my academic workload isn't suffering, and I get paid for my time. Good times. If you are at the university already and have not taken advantage of this scheme, you should! Go to the International office in the Library at Luton campus, and speak to the internship scheme. You only have to be a student here, it does not matter if you are undergraduate, postgraduate, Home, EU or international student.

In other news, as someone who has worked as part of many project teams, and is presently studying for an Msc in Project Management, it was only natural that I felt the need to acquire a deeper understanding of the methodologies used worldwide to manage projects. I began my methodology journey with the PRINCE2 certification examination (Projects In Controlled Environments) which is the recommended methodology developed by the UK's Office of Government Commerce, for managing projects. I wrote the foundation examination yesterday, and I passed. It is very exciting to see one's journey unravelling in the best ways, you make gains, you learn new insights.

These months are the final few which I shall spend here before I am awarded my Msc in Project Management and to be honest, I have learnt so much here that I am considering making continuous development programmes a part of my life, twice yearly. There is something full of wisdom and rewarding about being here. I am glad I embarked upon this journey, and although there have been lots of stumbling blocks and things that quite frankly, I have been disappointed about here, on the whole, it is proving to be one of the most rewarding journeys that I have embarked on my life.  In my next post, I shall discuss some of the challenges, how to be prepared for them and the benefits which quite clearly, outweigh them. Keep well everyone.

Photo sources:

1. University social spaces: www.beds.ac.uk

2. PRINCE2 logo: www.apmg-international.com

Grades, Travel, Freebies and House Hunting: The Joys of Being a Student

I am well into my summer holidays and I have to say that I have had a really great time. I travelled to the South of France for a few days and had the best time. It was sunny and just right, and there was a lot to to. It was my first  time in France, I went to Carcassone and Toulouse. Perhaps the best part for me was finding lots of freebies which I got for being a student; certain places gave me 10% off meals and drinks when I showed them my identity card.

I went on to travel within the UK for a bit after France. It helped that I had received my grades before I went and so I knew exactly where I was with the units of my course, and I was in a good place. All that studying seems to have paid off. After France, I went to the Midlands and had a small tour of the little villages around Stoke-On-Trent and was struck at how different it is from Luton and London. I did some very English activities including going to a lovely tea room which served scones with cream and jam, as well as really great tea complete with tea cups, sieve and cupcakes.

Before my visit to Stoke-On-Trent, I started with places of interest in Luton which I had been too busy to see. I went to Stockwood Park Discovery centre in Luton, had a wander in its park and had lunch in the cafeteria, I went for a comedy night at the Hat Factory (which is a post for another day), and I went to Venue 360 the place with tennis courts and loads of fun stuff to do. Apparently, they have a plethora of discounts and concessions for University of Bedfordshire students, which is great if you are living on a budget.

Speaking of budgets, I am still searching for a job, nothing has come through yet and this may explain why freebies are concessions are so important to me right now and almost got a post of their own as they now come in very handy. Have you made any headway with your search? I have been luckier with finding accommodation. I have now found a really great space in an excellent area close to the university. I am thankful that I practically lived at the university for the first six months of my time here as those were absolutely key  to how I adjusted and began the race towards my Msc. House hunting completed, I am now focusing on looking at the modules required for PRINCE2 foundation and practitioner exams, which I shall write in February 2015 (no harm in starting early) while I continue to search for that oh-so-elusive job which will ensure that I can enjoy my pints and shisha at the Lounge and wherever else I choose to go.

Photos:

1.  Sign of events at the Carcassone Festival (Photo credit: Me)
2. The central square in Carcassone (Photo credit: Me)
3. Tea in West Coyney (Photo credit: Me)
4. Exhibition at Stockwood Discovery Park in Luton (Photo credit: www.lutonculture.com) 
5. Comedy club logo at the Hat Factory Luton (Photo credit: www.lutonculture.com)

My CV, Jobs and a Salary: A Holiday Challenge

Last week marked the end of the first term of my course. It ended with a 24 hour time constrained case study released on a wednesday morning, and requiring that we submit a 3000 word response to the case study by the next morning. Suffice to say that I stayed up all night working feverishly, willing my brain and my eyes to remain open, both failed quite a few times and I ended up either staring cross-eyed at my laptop screen, or falling asleep over  it. Not a very pretty sight. But I triumphed in the end, and submitted my essay 15 minutes to the deadline. It has been a very busy term; one minute we were out having dinner and drinks in the town centre, or partying in Sub2 the Student's Union lounge, and the next minute we were living on red bull and research references.

It has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride of a term. My course had several 1500 and 3000 word papers and reflective essays to research, write and submit within deadlines. In addition, we also had to work in cross-functional groups to work on and deliver a live case study to develop, research, prepare and deliver a presentation on utilising the 4Ds of project management; Define, Design, Do, Develop (also known as review). I believe that working in groups may have been my hardest challenge at this Msc so far, but the specifics are for another blog post. All I can say is that this is as real as it gets. As a project manager, we may work on projects of international proportions spread across geographical zones and cultures. The onus falls on you as a key member of the project team, or as a project manager, to ensure that all members of the team stay on target and achieve results. I am presently on summer holidays, and whereas I am very excited to be able to do whatever I want at my own pace, the life of a student means that income is limited.

Consequently, I began to look for a job at which I can work for the stipulated 20 hours per week, per the requirement of my tier 4 student visa. As soon as I began to search, I was amazed at the resources available to University of Bedfordshire students as a support structure towards finding jobs. I went into the university career and recruitment centre in Luton and had a discussion with a member of staff. The pointers I received were extremely helpful, and I have listed some of them below:

- Make out time to re-write your curriculum vitae (CV) every few weeks while actively searching for a job. Trends change and the job requirements differ, thus learn to highlight the achievements of what you have previously done which speak to the job being applied for.

-Never submit your cv in tabular format. Always use regular microsoft word format without any tables or bullet points if possible. Some recruitment software used by certain employers does not recognise tables in cvs and will make your cv ureadable.

-In application letters submitted together with the cv, make sure you highlight what position you are applying for, what you have done in the past, how that experience will benefit or add value to the organisation that you are applying to, and why you wish to apply to this employer.

-Try to keep your cv within 2 pages, unless you have worked for decades, or are in academia where your research papers have to be listed.

These are some of the key areas articulated. I have since edited my cv per these suggestions and I have now been invited to four interviews; three in London, and one at the university. The first two london interviews have come back as unsuccessful, the third interview will happen next week and the fourth will take place on August 4th. Although I did not get the first two jobs, I am optimistic that something excellent will work out. The important thing is to make one's cv good enough for recruiters to take a second look at it and invite you for that important chat. I shall keep you posted on how the remaining two interviews go and my quest to earn a living during the summer.

This is my holiday challenge to myself; find a job, and to you; re-write your cv, it does not matter how little or how much experience you have. The only rule is to try to keep it within 2 pages, you do not want those recruiters yawning over a complete detailing of your roles and responsibilities.

In the interim, should you wish to have a look at the university's career centre, view it here. Follow it also on twitter; @ubcareers.

Goodluck!

Photo sources:
1. Official students' Union wednesday nights at Sub2 for Bucs Sake: Photo is from the BedsSU page.
2. From my personal photography collection; panning the movement of a cyclist in London.
3. A photo of the UoB Career and Recruitment centre found on the university website.
4. From my visit to London. A lunch menu on Oxford street.