A dissertation is a complex project that requires the student to integrate high scientific as well as organizational demands. Project management offers several tools that help to keep the overview, to achieve goals faster and to work more efficiently.

As a participant you will learn about project management essentials for organizing scientific work, workshops, meetings and other projects. We will introduce and discuss different methodologies such as Waterfall and Agile in a way that you understand the differences including pros and cons and are able to choose the right methodology for a particular project.

You will further learn to apply tools for project planning, monitoring and risk management and develop your own PhD project plan. Besides the technical methodologies, managing stakeholders from team members to supervisors and third parties is a key element of successful project management. We will therefore put particular focus on the development of teamwork and leadership skills.

The course will be interactive with solo and team exercises complementing input lectures and theoretical knowledge. Numerous real-life examples and practical tips and tricks will be provided.

The course highly motivates you as a scientist to build a fundamental knowledge of project management methods and to improve your soft skills to successfully work in and lead a team. The skills developed during this course will enable you to efficiently initiate and coordinate projects.

Content of the course
• Project management essentials around the “magical triangle” of time, scope and budget
• Project structuring and organization
• Project planning methodologies, e.g. Waterfall and Agile
• Tools for project planning and monitoring, e.g. Gantt charts and Kanban
• Project steering including monitoring, financial administration and risk management
• Project ownership, stakeholder management and communication</p>

Important:
Please come prepared with a basic idea for a future project, ideally, you already have discussed the idea with your supervisor.