IT Project Management skills are undervalued by many businesses, a survey of 300 firms has revealed.

Research by Pardo Fox for IT management training company Globa Knowledge, found that firms placed the greatest value on IT professionals having good technical skills. Next in perceived importance were interpersonal skills, customer-facing skills, and understanding the employer's business, with project and service management skills rated lowest.

Steve Philp, marketing director at Global Knowledge, said, "Good project management skills are vital to the success of every major IT project, yet there seems to be a lack of awareness of this. That is a real concern, because today's IT professionals are tomorrow's IT managers, and if project and service management skills are underrated, there is a much higher risk of general project failure."

The survey also suggested that companies did not appreciate the extent to which an IT skills shortage could affect a business.

ref computerweekly.com

Project Manager.com is Acquired by Method123

The move is the latest in a series of company acquisitions in the project management industry, as players compete for top rankings in Google.

ProjectManager.com is reputed to be the original founding website on the topic of Project Management. Created in 1994 by a US entrepreneur, it was designed for the purpose of enabling new Project Managers to seek employment opportunities. It then grew to become one of the most successful project management jobs sites on the web. More recently, the business was ranked highly by Google and today it is listed as the third most highly ranked site worldwide for the popular search terms "Project Manager".

http://projectmanager.com/

PMI EMEA Conference 2008

19 - 21 May 2008
Marrakech, Morocco

http://congresses.pmi.org/

EMEA2007/NextYearsCongress.cfm

Element Introduces Copper Project 2008, The Web's Best Project Management and Collaboration Software

Element Software has released its much anticipated 2008 update to the project management and collaboration software used by Apple, NASA, Coca-cola, and thousands of other creative and commercial teams. With an all new Ajax interface, and a world first with Team Defrag, Copper 2008 takes web 2.0 business management applications to a new level.

The 2008 version includes a reworked interface, new Ajax features, customizable reports, drag and drop flash timeline, and a world first called 'team defrag', a feature allowing you to review your entire resource allocations to determine who's busy and who's not.

For more information visit http://www.copperproject.com

UK Universities with Degrees in Project Management

Aston University
Bournemouth University
Coventry University
Cranfield University
Robert Gordon University
University College London
University of Aberdeen
University of Bath
University of Bradford
University of Brighton
University of Dundee
University of Edinburgh
Universit of Exeter
University of Greenwich
University of Leeds
University of Lincoln
University of Manchester
University of Portmouth
University of Reading
University of Salford
University of Sunderland
University of Ulster
University of Warwick
University of Westminister
University of Wolverhampton
University of York

University of the West of England

Broghton International Business School

University of Canbridge International Examinations

University of Central Lancashire

2008 Academy of Management Conference

August 8-13, 2008 - Anaheim, California
Theme: The Questions We Ask



2008 Academy of Management Conference is in Anaheim. Just next to Los Angeles. Check the link below for the submission information:
http://meeting.aomonline.org/2008/

PDMA Pre-Conference Research Forum September 29 - 30, 2007 - Orlando, Florida

The Research Forum provides an excellent setting for learning, while also delivering ways to leverage your new knowledge in the workplace. The Research Forum gives practitioners the chance to learn about new insights into product development and to question distinguished academics on their findings. It also offers researchers the unique opportunity to further validate their theories and to identify paths for future research.

www.pdma.org/2007

Open Source Replacement of Microsoft Project Debuts

Projity has said that over 25,000 copies of OpenProj have been downloaded in the first week since launching. OpenProj is a free, open source replacement of Microsoft Project and other commercial project management software solutions. OpenProj is adding more than 3,000 users every day with downloads every 21 seconds around the clock. The Projity team announced OpenProj at the LinuxWorld conference and has since been receiving tremendous worldwide interest. OpenProj is already the #5 application out of the 160,000 solutions tracked by Sourceforge.

read http://www.linuxelectrons.com/news/application/11329/open-source-replacement-microsoft-project-debuts

15TH INTERNATIONAL PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE

15TH INTERNATIONAL PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE
HAMBURG, GERMANY, JUNE 29-JULY 1ST, 2008

http://www.eiasm.org/frontoffice/event_announcement.asp?event_id=565

500 words abstract by November 15th, 2007

22nd IPMA World Congress - Rome (Italy) November 9-11, 2008

22nd IPMA World Congress - Rome (Italy) November 9-11, 2008
Abstract submission January 31, 2008
http://www.ipmaroma2008.it/

4TH WORKSHOP ON MAKING PROJECTS CRITICAL

'Making Projects Critical' is the title of series of workshops intended to provide a forum for research from a wide range of critical perspectives relating to all aspects of projects, including project management, project based organising and the 'projectification' of society.

http://www.eiasm.org/frontoffice/event_announcement.asp?event_id=544

IRNOP Project Research Conferences

IRNOP VIII Conference, Brighton, UK, 2007. Projects in Innovation, Innovation in Projects.The eighth research conference will be held in Brighton, UK, September 19-21, 2007. The hosts for the conference will be CENTRIM, University of Brighton and SPRU, University of Sussex. Deadline for abstracts by 15 January, 2007

http://www.irnop.org/conferences/

PMI Research Conference 2008

The future of project management is now! Take part in shaping the profession - submit your paper or student poster abstract for the the fifth biennial Research Conference. This is an opportunity to present your research findings to an elite group of as many as 400 high level academics, researchers and practitioners.

congresses.pmi.org/ResearchConf2006/NextYearsConference.cfm

Project Management Sessions in AOM Conference

In this year Academy of Management conference there are several paper and worshop sessions devoted to research and practice of Project Management. This conference is known as the best Management conference and usually the quality of presentations are very high. Here are some of the sessions about project management:

Teaching Project Management (with "people" in mind)
PDW Workshop
(OM, BPS, HR)
Saturday, Aug 4 20071:00PM - 2:30PM
Philadelphia Marriott, Room 301

The Management of Large Engineering Projects: Debating a Research Agenda
PDW Workshop
(OM, PNP, TIM, IM)
Saturday, Aug 4 20072:00PM - 3:30PM
Philadelphia Marriott, Room 413

How to Study Project Management: Diverse Research Methods and Studying Project-Specific Phenomena
PDW Workshop
(OM, RM, IM)
Sunday, Aug 5 20078:00AM - 9:30AM
Philadelphia Marriott, Room 307

Project Management & Firm Success
Paper Session
(OM)
Tuesday, Aug 7 20072:30PM - 3:50PM
Philadelphia Marriott, Franklin 13

For more information visit:
http://meeting.aomonline.org/2007/

New Book:Toyota Product Development System: Integrating People, Process, and Technology

In The Toyota Product Development System: Integrating People, Process, and Technology, James Morgan and Jeffrey Liker compare and contrast the world-class product development process of Toyota with that of a U.S. competitor. They use extensive examples from Toyota and the U.S. competitor to demonstrate value stream mapping as an extraordinarily powerful tool for continuous improvement.
Through examples and case studies, this book illustrates specific techniques and proven practices for dealing with challenges associated with product development, such as synchronizing multiple disciplines, multiple function workload leveling, compound process variation, effective technology integration, and knowledge management.

The APM Project Management Conference

The APM Project Management Conference - The Business of Projects
The Brewery conference centre, London, 30-31 October 2007

The APM Project Management Conference 2007 is an interactive forum bringing together project management professionals and key decision makers across the public and private sector. It aims to set out and debate key subjects on the national project management agenda.
The conference will be structured around five topics representing key issues on the current project management agenda. The topics graduate from tactical elements of delivering business benefits through projects, through strategic issues of governance and the project management skills gap, to national issues of mega projects such as the Olympics and the global issue of sustainability.

http://www.apm.org.uk/

Introducing RAMDA

RAMDA is focused on the needs of researchers, practitioners and students of research technology and innovation management. It is closely associated with the R&D Management journal and conferences.
Access this site for information about education and research activities in the field of research technology and innovation managementDetails of The R&D Management ConferencesHow to subscribe or publish in the journal R&D Management Links to summer schools, workshops and other events

Visit http://www.radma.org/

Introducing the Institute of Management Consultancy

For those nterested to get in touch with peers in the Management Consultancy I recomend to visit the Institute of Management Consultancy website at
http://www.imc.co.uk/index.php
They also have some certification programs.