This paper is designed to help students understand the fundamentals of project management and encourage the development of practical skills by adopting a hands-on approach. By applying foundational project management principles to practical situations and becoming familiar with project management software, students are equipped with tools to put their knowledge into practice.

Project management is an essential skill for most people in many areas of business and management and is especially useful for new graduates establishing themselves in their careers. Project management is a competence area that is supported in business by a range of professional credentials for different project management approaches, such as Prince2, IPMA, and PMP. Microcredentials and certifications are offered across many industries and represent evidence of a user's competency in a specific skill (i.e., fluency in a programming language, mastery of a software application). These credentials can be beneficial for project managers wanting to highlight and leverage specialised skills.

Project management skills and knowledge are transferable across many areas, including business consultancy, technology and information services, marketing and design agencies, as well as infrastructure-focused sectors such as engineering and construction. Project management skills are useful for people in many contexts, whether an individual is employed at a large multinational organisation, working for a local SME, managing operations in a micro enterprise, preparing to launch a start-up, or kicking off an entrepreneurial venture.

Lectures, readings, class and online discussion, case studies and hands-on lab sessions support the practical, real-world approach of this paper.

There is one two-hour lecture each teaching week. Attendance is expected for lectures, however, it is not compulsory. All lectures will involve class discussions. It is expected that students will have completed pre-class readings and/or exercises from the previous class. These requirements will be clearly communicated at the end of each lecture and any extra resources (readings, other) will be available on Moodle. These will either be provided as downloadable files or made accessible through linked content.

Lab sessions will start in week 3 and run during teaching weeks, concluding in week 12. Please see the Labs and Schedule sections for more information about lab sessions. Students will need to sign up for a lab session via Moodle - sign-up options will open on Monday 6th March 2023. Each practical assessment will be supported by two lab sessions. Attendance is not compulsory but an experienced and helpful tutor will be available in-person to help and answer questions. A Zoom lab session will also be available for students who cannot attend on-campus labs.