Fundamentals of Project Management for Research (312)

19 and 20 March 2025

Dr Thomas Teichler

A good understanding of project management is essential in an academic setting, where researchers are often dealing with a number of different projects in parallel. Fundamentals of project management (PM) provides an introduction to the management of projects executed by a single person. The course will provide an overview of the theory and principles of PM and show how to apply them to a PhD project. You will learn simple and effective tools to define goals, to break down and structure your objectives, milestones, and tasks in a transparent way, as well as to track your progress. Moreover, you will engage in hands-on activities that will guide you to develop a project plan for your current project and receive feedback from other participants.

Learning Outcomes:

In this workshop you will learn to:

• Define what a project is
• Frame your PhD as a project
• Implement key concepts of project management in a research environment
• Formulate a project goal in a powerful way that increases the chances of success
• Plan your project, define milestones and set realistic deadlines
• Identify interdependencies and risks, as well as ways to mitigate them

During the workshop you will experience a trustful and engaging environment, where you are invited to open up and share your own experience. At the same time, you will be challenged to stretch and – at the end of the course – to take specific action for the improvement of your project management. Thereby, you will have a chance to not only to learn new techniques but also to build confidence.

University of Fribourg

Date: Wednesday 19th and Thursday 20th March 2025

Schedule: 9:15 am to 5:15 pm

Location: University of Fribourg

Trainer:

Dr Thomas Teichler is a certified Co-active coach, trainer and consultant on leadership, team development, and change management. After a few years with Roland Berger Strategy Consultants he set up his own market research and coaching business, before writing a PhD about science cooperation in the high-tech and security sector at the European University Institute in Florence. As a policy consultant Thomas worked for the Manchester Institute of Innovation Research at Manchester Business School in the UK and for Technopolis Group in Germany. He advised the European Commission, national governments and international organizations on research and innovation policy. He trains doctoral students and post-docs at universities in Switzerland and Germany, as well as the Max Planck Society.

Participants are eligible for reimbursement of incurred travel expenses by train between the city of their university and the location of the workshop (half-fare card, 2nd class).

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