PMI held the 2012 PMI^® Research and Education Conference 15 July - 18 July 2012. The conference, which was held at the University of Limerick in Limerick, Ireland, brought together more than 260 researchers, academics, students and practitioners from 35 countries.

This was my first research conference, so I really wasn't sure what to expect. I was completely overwhelmed by the continuous interaction and knowledge sharing between researchers and practitioners.

PMI Board of Directors Chair Peter Monkhouse, PMP, set the tone for the conference during the opening session when he told researchers that the work they are doing is helping practitioners to be able to do projects better so that their organizations can meet strategic and business goals and be successful.

The 2012 conference was full of valuable content and featured something for everyone: a special symposium on the alignment of academic research with the needs of the practice community; discussion sessions on topics such as PMOs, program management and complexity; and interactive incubator sessions where attendees could discuss and respond to research in progress.


The conference featured three distinguished plenary speakers: Raymond Levitt, PhD, Director of the Collaboratory on Global Projects at Stanford University; Denise Rousseau, PhD, University Professor at Heinz College and Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University; and Christopher Loch, PhD, Director, Judge Business School at Cambridge University.

Several pre-conference sessions were held:

• Doctoral candidates were able to present their research to an audience of peers and international scholars at a doctoral colloquium. A total of 13 students presented and gained feedback on their research.
• A Global Accreditation Center (GAC) Academic Forum, which nearly 30 participants representing 15 universities in 10 countries attended. 

The morning session focused on GAC accreditation, with a session on the GAC accreditation process and presentations from universities who have GAC accredited programs. An interactive discussion followed the presentations, where the program representatives, GAC board and staff discussed all aspects of the GAC accreditation program and process with the audience.

The afternoon working session presented an Oxford Debate on the Flipped Classroom Concept with a motion of "Flipped Classrooms and experimenting with teaching is the way forward for project management education."

 


• Nearly 40 scholars participated in a case writing workshop titled "Leveraging Your Research into Teaching Cases."
  

The workshop, which was led by Mark Jenkins, Director of Research and Professor of Business Strategy, Cranfield School of Management, provided attendees with tools to use their empirical research findings or publicly available information as the basis for writing a teaching case.

One of the highlights for me was the recognition of this year's award winners, which recognized scholars, senior practitioners and students of project management who have produced particularly notable bodies of work in research and education. You can find information about the awards and the winners on pmi.org.

My attendance at this year's PMI^® Research and Education Conference was definitely a learning experience for me, as I strive to learn more about how academics and practitioners can join together to help shape the future of the project management profession.

PMI members can see full coverage of the 2012 PMI^® Research and Education Conference in the September issue of PMI Today.

If you attended, what was your favorite session or experience? What would you like to see at the next research and education conference?