Postgraduate Initiative in Project Engineering
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✉ PIPE Admissions
PIPE (Postgraduate Initiative in Project Engineering)
The Postgraduate Initiative in Project Engineering (PIPE) curriculum originally designed by Oxford Academics is relatively unique in two ways:
- it adopts an engineering as opposed to a management approach to achieving success in complex projects, and
- it assembles academic and professional bodies of knowledge to treat the scope and depth of issues encountered in today’s complex, fast-moving and cost-critical project environments.
Postgraduate Initiative in Project Engineering (PIPE) is delivered by IX Academics and has been audited by SMAP (French branch of the IPMA – International Project Management Association) against the ICB (International Competence Baseline) version 3.
The PIPE curriculum is made of five modules
The five modules are required for the full “Executive Master in Project Engineering”.
The two core modules and at least one in the three selective ones are required for the “Executive Certificate in Project Engineering”.
Key skills
a. Critical thinking and creativity:
identification and diagnosis of project success requirements and construction of related adequate project management.
b. Problem solving and decision making:
establishing criteria for successful projects and project management.
c. Information and knowledge:
definition and construction of effective and efficient project scorecards.
d. Numeracy and quantitative skills:
identification and characterization of success metrics for each project, and assurance these characterization will be met.
e. Effective use of Communication and Information Technology (CIT):
practical approach of project scheduling software tools (both freeware tools or commercial ones).
f. Two-way communication:
consideration of key stakeholders in projects and identification of adequate communication protocols before, during and after projects.
g. Personal effectiveness:
for each student, development of one’s own specialization (for example, either definition scope management, or plan development, or any of the addressed module) for an application field (oil & gas, aerospace, nuclear, etc).
h. Effective performance within a team environment and the ability to recognise and utilise individuals’ contributions in-group processes:
part of the application work is to be performed in teams.
i. Leadership and performance management:
design and improvement of decision making processes to control or direct projects.
j. Ethics and value management:
academic environment is mainly aimed at developing ethical and organisational values to project situations.
k. Ability to conduct research into business and management issues.
l. Learning through reflection on practice and experience.
Knowledge and Understanding
Construction of requirement baseline (including making requirements measurable and characterized) and definition baseline.
Both economic and strategic value analysis of projects. Identification of ILS (Integrated Logistic Support) as an answer to RAMS requirements (Reliability, Availability, Maintainability and Safety).
Methods to estimate time and cost in projects.
Methods to plan projects to assure consistency between definition of final deliverable and both project budget and schedule.
Methods to evaluate performance status during execution. Application of Earned Value Management (EVM). Integration of project management into project portfolio management.
Thinking or cognitive skills
How to assure the “best price” for a project.
Diagnosis of most common failure/success factors in projects.
Recognition of critical decisions to be made in key situations before and during the project.
Key orientation in situations where project control is not common sense any more.
Management of both “strong and weak interactions” between projects.
To combine critical review of research with standard and tools environment for project engineering.
The PIPE curriculum is made of five modules:
For each module of the Postgraduate Initiative in Project Engineering (PIPE), student is expected to:
- attend contact hours (presentations, labs, team works, discussions and case studies),
- conduct personal research on application of the tools, techniques and methods taught or reviewed during the course,
- develop an individual case where the various tools, techniques and methods taught or reviewed during contact hours,
- review other individual cases and develop critical analysis,
- develop a team case with other students,
- review other team cases and develop critical analysis,
- prepare submission of assessment documents.
Individual case is designed with and by each student to match one’s background and expected professional future.
Two core modules (IX7101 and IX7102)
Each student keeps the same case is taken all along the two core modules:
Three selective modules (IX7201, IX7202 and IX7203)
The three selective modules of the PIPE are not necessarily taken sequentially:
The five modules are required for the full “Executive Master in Project Engineering”.
The two core modules and at least one in the three selective ones are required for the “Executive Certificate in Project Engineering”.
Definition configuration manager
* to ensure consistency of all baseline documents for the project
Change controller
* to assure consistency of the definition of project final deliverable
Cost engineer
* to provide reliable scorecard on the consumption of project budget
Project planner
* to support project managers/leaders with adequate time and cost scorecard
EVM Officer (Earned Value Management Officer)
to qualify intermediate payments during project execution
Project Management Officer (PMO)
* to integrate performing department of the organisation into the project management communication system
System acquisition officer
* to assure link from users to industrial contractors all along system lifetime
Contract controller
* to assure award, negotiation, execution and conclusion of acquisition contract
Cost controller
* to assure control of project budget
Project manager/leader
* to assure adequate resources (both qualitatively and quantitatively) to execute and conclude the project
Project risk manager
* to assure adequate provision, contingencies and monitoring to complete the project in uncertain environment
Project Management Office (PMO) coordinator
* to integrate project portfolio management communication system to prepare adequate portfolio decisions
All applicants must hold:
- an honors degree or equivalent
i.e. professional qualification, or higher. - in exceptional cases substantial experience in the field of Project Engineering, or a closely related discipline
(e.g. Project Management, Risk Management, Lean Methodology)
Eligibility will be determined by means of an interview with the Programme Leader.
Applicants for whom English is not a native language must also demonstrate proficiency in the English language.
- Such applicants will be required, normally to achieve scores of 6.5 on IELTS.
- Entry with Credit The University regulations regarding APL, APEL & APCL apply.