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

2015: New Year, New Resolutions & Steadfastness

Happy New Year everyone. 2014 went by really quickly, quite naturally when one is busy trying to study for and obtain an Msc less than sixteen months. I cannot believe we are already in 2015 and I find myself regularly putting 2014 down as the date, still. I suppose this happens to a lot of people in the new year. Anyway, I have made a quick but firm list of how I would like this year to play out. I know that this sounds like such a usual "New Year" talk, but I believe this is different. I shall tell you why. You see, as I got older, I got rid of the "New Year resolutions" which sounded like commandments; I shall not drink, I shall not eat junk food, I shall not spend money unnecessarily, and so forth. Instead, my resolutions have now become those things which I like to do, or where I see my life. I know it may sound like a load of new age talk, but it actually works. My resolutions last year in January included enrolling at a university for a postgraduate degree, finding love, learning to cook new healthier recipes, travelling, finding a job which is challenging and enjoyable, among others. I can tell you that everything I set out as goals for 2014 came to fruition, except for the job bit, but I think there's still time and that will happen once I have graduated.

source: www.franky242.net

For 2015, I would like to excel in the final units of my course and graduate with an excellent overall grade, I would like to travel some more hopefully within a job, and I would like to write more. The whole idea is to remain steadfast in the vision and goals I have for my life. Thus I must end on this note, lest I run the risk of sounding preachy or too new age; whatever your plans are, it helps to write them down and put dates and action plans beside them. If one of your plans is to study for a CPD, undergrad or postgrad degree, then this is the time. Begin your journey here today, it will be well worth it.

Have an excellent 2015