For release on:
30 April 2008
For more information contact:
Joe Patterson, PMI Public Relations
Project Management Institute
+1-610-356-4600 ext. 1112
joseph.patterson@pmi.org
BARCELONA, Spain —The Project Management Institute (PMI) Global Accreditation Center for Project Management (GAC) has accredited the Master Degree in Project Management offered by the La Salle Business Engineering School (BES). The La Salle BES Project Management Master’s program has been running for 10 years and to date counts more than 1,000 graduates.
The accreditation makes La Salle BES the first business management school in Spain and only the third in Europe to obtain the GAC accreditation, and testifies to the quality and comprehensiveness of La Salle BES’s Project Management Master’s program.
With this accreditation, La Salle BES’s Project Management master’s students will be recognized with 1,500 hours experience in project management. A total 4,500 hours experience leading projects are required by individuals to obtain PMI’s Project Management Professional (PMP®) certification.
Commenting on the accreditation, Ramón Ollé, executive president of La Salle Business Engineering School, said: “La Salle BES has a strong track record in producing top-level, business-savvy project managers who can hit the ground running. This prestigious accreditation is recognition of the great work the school has been doing over the past decade in developing superior project managers. We are delighted to join the family of PMI-accredited institutions and remain committed to the education of project managers and this programme, which we intend to expand internationally.”
Dr. Edwin Andrews, director of academic and educational programs and services and research at PMI, said: “The project management degree at La Salle BES is indicative of the growing demand for project management programs worldwide by practitioners and the organizations for which they work. Project management degree programs have grown from two in 1994 to over 300 at more than 270 institutions worldwide.”
In May 2008, La Salle BES will launch its unique program of executive education workshops, a series of short two-three day international seminars aimed at working professionals who want to integrate new technologies and innovative management practices in a global context. Four of these are specifically devoted to project management: implementing business strategies through project management techniques; developing projects in multicultural environments; knowledge management; and project and innovation financing.
About LA SALLE Business Engineering School
For La Salle, management cannot be understood without also considering technological innovation. That is why the La Salle Business Engineering School intends to become an international reference in management and technology training in support of entrepreneurship. The Business Engineering School was born of La Salle’s tradition of educational excellence, which has developed a global network of educational institutions whose history stretches back over 300 years and includes more than 70 university centres worldwide. In Spain, La Salle was a founding member of the country’s first private university, the Ramon Llull University.
About PMI’s Global Accreditation Center (GAC)
PMI is fully engaged in the education process through its Global Accreditation Center. Established by PMI in 2001, the Global Accreditation Center for Project Management (GAC) acts as the sole governing body for the policies, procedures, and standards for accrediting project management programs at the bachelor, master and doctorate degree levels. The discipline of project management continues to become more recognized within the academic world over the past 20 years.
About GAC Accreditation
In 1994, there were only two bachelor and nine master level project management degrees -- primarily in construction management. Through 2007, the number had grown to more than 386 degree programs at 277 institutions worldwide. The degrees have broadened to encompass not only construction management, but also business management, engineering, architecture and information technology. There are five newly accredited degree programs, two in the United States, one in Spain, one in Germany and one in China. GAC now has a total of 15 accredited schools, and 13 more schools’ project management programs are in the GAC accreditation process.
About PMI
With more than 265,000 members in 170 plus countries, the Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI) is the leading membership association for the project management profession and the largest association dedicated to project management in the world. As the leading advocate for the profession, PMI is actively engaged in setting professional standards, providing a professional career path for project managers and maintaining a family of professional credentials: Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM®), Project Management Professional (PMP®) and Program Management Professional (PgMP)®. The PMP, held by more than 267,000 project managers worldwide, is the only project management credential that is globally transferable. Additionally, PMI provides members with access to the knowledge, skills, educational support and networking opportunities needed to drive business results through project management, program management and portfolio management. The Institute is highly regarded for its extensive research capabilities and its program to accredit colleges and universities and Registered Education Providers to teach PMI approved project management courses. PMI was founded in 1969. Please visit PMI.org for more information.