Leadership and collaboration in project management education: A case study

Abstract

This paper discusses about the importance of practical experience and multidisciplinary collaboration in project management success and the apparent lack of emphasis placed on this within the context of university education. It introduces a multidisciplinary approach currently being implemented in the College of Engineering in Qatar University between the departments of Architecture and Urban Planning and Industrial and Systems Engineering. The research items cover specific areas of collaboration and leadership in project management and the collected data was then analyzed to compare Architecture and Engineering students in their approach to the multidisciplinary project and in the proper application of managerial tools for planning scope, time, cost and risk managements through integration, technology and communication. The paper provides strategies of effective practices applied for embedding enterprise and employability in higher education, in respect to the specific project experiences that are mandatory for each project manager. The students' outcomes demonstrate their ability to recognize the dialectic relationship between project management and the multidisciplinary approach to recognize the diversity of roles, needs, values, tools, as they relate their experience to the current environment for project management in Qatar. In other words, the question is: can the multidisciplinary collaboration, applied in higher education, enhance the interaction between theory and practical experience in a field mainly dominated by the theoretical approaches of different disciplines?