As an outcome of a discussion with one of the leading educational institutions, way back in 2018, during a pre-conference networking event, the chapter leaders decided to leverage the wealth of knowledge of the member professionals to bridge the gap between industry and academia. A core Academic Advisory Committee was formed with 2 senior chapter members representing industry and 2 experts from reputed academic institutions: The purpose and structure of the Academic Forum – how students, faculty, and PMI are to connect, the frequency of meetings, etc were all ironed out. The first Academic Forum started in 2018 with a group of 60 students from Rajadhani Business School with a dedicated faculty coordinator. Project management sessions for faculty, and life skills sessions for students were the primary training offered. Focus group idea of personal mentoring was well received by the Academic Forum student members. Following the grand success at Rajadhani, two more Academic Forums were inaugurated in the same year, 2018.
Academic Forum Conclave WINGS2019 is a networking platform for all student members to listen to and interact with industry experts. The very first conclave was held in 2019. A state-wide Business Quiz was conducted with participation from 60 major colleges and the final session conducted along with the Conclave and awards given to 3 top scoring teams. Academic Forums have been instrumental in arranging Internship to over 100 students with the support of 30 Startups from the Kerala State Startup Mission. In 2020 two more Academic Forums joined the community as an outcome of all these activities. Academic Conclave WINGS2020 marked a new record with over 220 students participating in the event with Business Quiz limited to student forum members only. Industry-specific professionals took sessions on various topics (construction, quality )) that would benefit the student community. By 2021 this initiative emerged as a bigger community with over 1200 students and 6 Academic Forums and also beneficiaries of two other social good programs of the chapter, viz. DISHA and PMIK-Naandi MPC joint initiative. For the third consecutive year, the prestigious PMIK Academic Excellence Awards were given to students for “Academic Project of the Year”. In 2021, “Innovative Faculty of the Year” Award was also introduced.
During the pandemic, the chapter has extended the support using latest collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams, and the Airmeet / Webex platform to interact with students. To integrate the strategy of 5-75, PMI Kerala extended the academic outreach to school students as well. Sessions of project management as life skills, game-based learnings including tower games were introduced. The environmental activity based project management concept learning ‘Plant My Food’ program “Sarvam Organic” held in 2021 was well received by school as well as caught PMI Global attention.
An innovative, interactive event that facilitates a healthy platform for college students to showcase their information, knowledge and ideas. This annual competition provides a chance for them to demonstrate their knowledge, ability and benchmark with the simplest within the state. It’s been verified that learning through quizzing is fun and goes on the far side the normal ways of management coaching. Business Quiz is open to all graduate and post graduate students from establishments among Kerala. The winners are going to be qualified for Grant Finale during Academic Forum Conclave.
PMI Kerala institutionalized various awards to recognize excellence in project management. Academic Project of the year Award The PMIK Academic Project of the Year Award recognizes the best Academic project in the area of Project Management Purpose The purpose of this award is to recognize the best academic project in the Project Management. The award highlights the significance of academic focus in project management knowledge areas.
Eligible
● All academic projects from Kerala are eligible for the award.
● Student Award Nominee must be a member of PMIK Academic Forum (Individual or max group of three can apply).
Not Eligible
● Sitting members of PMIK’s Board of Directors are not eligible to receive the award and may not participate in the evaluation process.
● Projects authored by current PMIK staff and consultants.
● Individuals or organizations that have failed to comply with PMI policies and procedures, including but not limited to PMI’s Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, will not be considered.
Number of Awards
● In the case of multiple authors on a single paper, each author will be recognized. ● PMIK reserves the right not to select a recipient or to give more than one award in a given year.
Nominee needs to ensure all documentation is included providing clearance for public release.
Criteria The following criteria will be considered in the evaluation process: Nomination Criteria Student Awards:
1. Nominated project should follow Project Management framework.
2. Project should have a clear business case and deliverables.
3. Project quality should be defined using triple constrains.
4. Project should be drafted in such a way to show what all activities were completed in each phase of the project.
5. Nomination should be submitted with a write up limited to 500 words on project execution details and methodology.
6. Name (individual /team), semester, course and institution name must be clearly mentioned.
Evaluation Process
● Projects are reviewed using the criteria outlined above.
● Projects are reviewed and scored by a peer review panel.
●The evaluation process is proprietary to PMIK and will not be disclosed. A soft copy of the project needs to be sent to awards@pmikerala.org
Decision
● The recipient(s) of the award will be notified of the decision by PMIK at the conclusion of the process.
Presentation of the Award
● The PMIK Academic Project of the Year Award will be presented at project management Kerala Conference Waves.
●The award will be publicized through PMI communication channels and external media after presentation of the award.
● PMIK reserves the right within its sole discretion, and at any time up to the time of the presentation of the award, to determine that a candidate is or has become ineligible for the award .In any such case, PMIK will notify the candidate of its decision as soon as possible prior to the award presentation.
Innovative faculty of the year Award
Project Management Institute Kerala invites nominations for the prestigious Academic excellence awards in Faculty categories. Faculty Award Nominee must be from PMIK academic forum institutions. Faculty Awards:
1. What was the project objective & scope? (e.g., Who was involved? What kind of change did this entail?)
2. What teaching or learning challenge was addressed by this project?
3. How was the project executed/tested?
4. How was the project innovative?
5. How was the project evaluated? What data are (or will be) available to describe the effects on learning?
6. How could this project be adapted to meet different learning outcomes and/or be transferred to another institution?
7. Faculty name, designation, department, and institution name must be clearly mentioned.
