A Conversation with Dr. Emad Rahim, of Bellevue University, College of Science and Technology about their Project Management Center of Excellence
Dr. Emad Rahim, PMP, CSM., Kotouc Family Endowed Chair, Associate Professor and Program Director of Program Management Education, College of Science and Technology at Bellevue University
Why did Bellevue University commit to developing a Project Management Center of Excellence?
The Center within Bellevue University's College of Science and Technology is dedicated to performing research and advocacy, and providing education with respect to the profession and study of project management. Our Centers play a distinctive role in the learning experience of our students and faculty. The primary aim of the Center is to make business intelligence in the context of project management accessible to everyone at any time.
What is the purpose of the Center of Excellence?
The Center for Project Management is developing the next generation of project leaders, providing the resources and mindset for managing complex organizational projects on a global scale.
The Center offers a breadth of services for faculty, students, staff, alumni, the business community and organizations including:
- Technological resources
- Research
- Business resources
- Access to thought leaders
We enable students to combine their career passion with planning and soft skills, and develop them into high-performing project managers who are ready to tackle a diverse portfolio of projects. Students are taught by practitioners in the field in a world-class institution.
What is the role of faculty, students and alums in the Center of Excellence?
With advisement from our faculty, professional students, alums and advisory board of industry leaders, we developed curriculum that follows an applied-learning approach to teaching project management. This teaching approach allows us to integrate business scenarios and simulations into the classroom, bringing case studies and project-based assignments to life. The Center is an experiential learning environment that will share discoveries that are developed from classroom interactions. Our practitioner faculty will also provide mentorship and coaching, while their cohort of professional students and alums help cultivate an extensive industry network and life changing experiences.
Most Centers have an Advisory Board, could you tell us a little about your Board of Advisors?
Our Advisory Board are made up of business leaders from multiple corporations and government agencies. All of them are experts in project management in the context of their industry. Our Board serves as an important resource to our faculty and program administrators as they work to guide the further development of the Center and College. They help review our curriculum and reports, and provide feedback and ideas for improvements and share emerging trends within the industry.
Are the resources and materials in the Center open to the public?
Yes, our blogs, whitepapers, reports, infographics, podcast and interviews are all open access to the public. Our faculty, industry leaders, board of advisors and alumni have contributed their research articles, magazine columns, best business practices, lessons learned, and recommended tools and techniques available on our Project Management Center of Excellence platform. There is no need to register or get special permission to access our content. We wanted everyone to take full advantage of our thought leaders and resources.
What is your hope for the future of the Project Management Center of Excellence?
It is our hope that the Center serves as a news outlet to help spread the benefits of project management globally. That our audience not only apply and share the materials and information they obtain from the Center, but will also contribute new content to help further advance the study of project management. We want our Center to considered as a Think Tank and resource linker for project managers across industries.