Grants totaling more than US$ 1.5 million help young people apply project management to STEM and entrepreneurial endeavors
PMI Educational Foundation (PMIEF) today announced its partnerships with Discover Engineering (DiscoverE) and Junior Achievement Europe (JA Europe). The partnerships will integrate project management into programming that prepares youth to pursue STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) professions and build microenterprises—small businesses that employ few people—that problem solve community needs. PMIEF is a 501(c)(3) supporting charitable organization of Project Management Institute (PMI), the world's leading association for project professionals and changemakers.
Partnering with the world’s leading youth-serving non-profits enables PMIEF to carry out its mission of empowering young people to realize their potential and transform lives through project management. These partnerships introduce young people to project management foundations as they engage in highly experiential activities with organizations like DiscoverE and JA Europe, which equips them for 21st century success. Additionally, PMIEF partnerships, like those with DiscoverE and JA Europe, provide in-kind project management fundamentals training and expert project management coaching for staff to build organizational capacity.
"Learning effective project management skills increases the likelihood that young changemakers will achieve their academic, professional, and personal goals," said Sunil Prashara, President and CEO of Project Management Institute. "DiscoverE and JA Europe each boast an impressive record of accomplishment in delivering programming that strengthens the ability of young people to fine-tune what PMI calls their ‘power skills’ – thinking critically, communicating effectively, and skillfully leading themselves and others. I’m confident these partnerships will not only make a difference in their individual lives, but also in their ability to drive impact on the world."
As part of PMIEF’s new partnership with DiscoverE, the two will play a poignant role in inspiring 5 million young people to invent, design, and create "things that matter" through its highly compelling programming. Previously, PMIEF worked with DiscoverE to integrate project management skills into its Future City® Competition, an annual engineering competition that encourages more than 40,000 middle school students to architect a city 100 years in the future that addresses social, environmental, and technological concerns. As part of the new partnership, PMIEF will grant DiscoverE US$570,000 and help them create project management-framed youth resources such as an interactive game, engineering activities, webinars, and career spotlights so Future City participants learn basic project management tools.
“PMIEF has been an incredible partner for Discover Engineering over the years,” said Kathy Renzetti, Executive Director of DiscoverE. “Both organizations recognize the natural synergy between teaching project management skills and the engineering design process making our collaboration a natural fit. We are excited to continue working together to provide programs impacting millions of educators and students each year.”
In its collaboration with JA Europe, PMIEF will play a part in JA Europe’s work to teach critical lessons in work readiness, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship and prepare youth to successfully compete in the future global economy. Reaching more than 4 million young people in 40 countries each year, the organization equips them for meaningful careers and entrepreneurial endeavors. As part of its partnership with JA Europe, PMIEF will grant US$976,637 to integrate project management into the JA Company Programme in 21 member nations. This competition for young changemakers ages 15 to 19 challenges them to design a microenterprise that fulfills an unmet need in their community. In addition, JA Europe will integrate project management into its Entrepreneurial Skills Pass (ESP)™ certification that JA Company Programme participants may earn to verify they possess the competence required to either launch their own venture or successfully gain employment.
“We are grateful for the support of PMIEF in equipping our JA students with important project management skills so that they can apply them in a real-world context, and in helping JA staff across Europe build their project management capacity," said Salvatore Nigro, CEO of JA Europe. "This partnership starts a new phase for our organization and will allow us to do more – and together, better – for the youth we serve!”
To learn more about PMIEF’s youth-serving non-profit work, visit: https://pmief.org/for-nonprofits/our-partners. To learn more about DiscoverE and its Future City Competition, visit: http://www.discovere.org/our-programs/future-city, and visit http://www.jaeurope.org/education/ja-programmes/44-company-programme.html to learn more about JA Europe’s JA Company Programme.