In a rapidly evolving engineering landscape, project management skills are essential for engineers stepping into leadership roles.
From the moment engineers graduate, project management becomes an integral part of their professional lives.
“Everything a graduate engineer does in the engineering profession is part of a project whether it involves designing a product, a building, a highway or an airport or aircraft,” said Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Professor of Project Management Stephen Kajewski.
“In the early years, graduates may not be leading projects initially, but since they’re contributing to a fairly complex environment, it’s important that they understand the fundamentals of their work, the actions they take can support the project’s success or create challenges.”
It’s why Professor Kajewski, who is also the Director of the QUT Project Management Academy, believes project management has become an essential skill for engineers.
Projects are becoming more complex and multidisciplinary, and employers now expect engineers to combine technical expertise with leadership and project management skills.
“I think it’s important that graduates are skilled engineers, but equally important that they’re good project citizens – contributing positively to a project’s successful outcome,” Kajewski said.
Ready for the future
Project management is particularly essential for engineers pursuing senior leadership positions and international opportunities, but a broad range of major contractors, government departments and consulting companies are also increasingly demanding these skills.
“The industry is looking for self-assured, motivated, capable and self-directed individuals, and all of that has a leadership aspect to it,” Kajewski said.
QUT Lecturer Dr Sara Rashidian said the contemporary engineering landscape meant projects were rapidly becoming more complex and technology-driven.
“Engineers using the latest emerging trends and technologies, such as AI or robotics, need to understand such innovative methods as hybrid or agile project management,” she said.
“They need to learn how to adapt to ensure they have the flexibility that allows them to use the new technologies and innovative methods that are reshaping everyday project delivery and project management.”
AI, in particular, Rashidian said, is significantly reshaping the project management skills required for engineers.
“It brings efficiency, it helps to minimise repetitive tasks, it can be used to undertake predictive analysis. This is a big change in the engineering landscape.
“The implementation of AI or developing an AI tool should be defined as a project, and to lead that task, engineers need project management skills.”
Other engineering trends that Rashidian has noticed as being increasingly relevant in project management include sustainability, automation, blockchain and shared digital platforms across different stakeholders.
Kajewski also identifies globalisation, virtual working environments, and projects that are undertaken across state, national and international borders.
“Complexity is endemic in every project these days, regardless of project size or type,” he said.
“A volatile environment with high levels of complexity is making everyone’s role more significant across a range of different industrial sectors.”
Industry expertise
Kajewski and Rashidian have both encountered the perception that project management is a skill distinct from engineering and not always seen as relevant to an engineering career.
“I believe everyone working in engineering needs to have project management skills at some level,” Rashidian said.
Often, project managers are limited by not having the technical expertise that engineers gain through their training. Kajewski has encountered project managers who apply their skills generically from one industry to the next.
“This year, they might be working on IT projects; next year, they might move across and work on a government infrastructure project,” Kajewski said.
“If they’ve got great project management skills, they can do that, but the most effective project managers are those who also have a deep understanding of the industry they’re working in.
“For infrastructure projects, the strongest project managers are those who combine an engineering or construction qualification with project management, rather than those coming from an unrelated industry.”
To help prepare graduates for a world in which project management skills are critical for engineers at all stages, QUT offers a range of postgraduate options, including Graduate Certificate in Project Management and Master of Project Management qualifications. The Master’s degree is accredited by the Project Management Institute (PMI) and endorsed by the Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM).
Students can enter the program immediately after completing a four-year undergraduate degree or by returning to study after acquiring work experience.
Another option for students is an accelerated vertical double degree with Project Management, where they graduate with a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) and Master of Project Management degree within five years.
“Students graduate with two degrees in five years – a Bachelor’s degree in their chosen engineering major and a Master’s degree in project management,” Kajewski said.
“By the time a graduate enters the job market, employers are already looking at an engineer with a Master’s level qualification.”
QUT’s postgraduate programs combine teaching from academic experts with the expertise of industry professionals.
“Your skills on graduation are founded in tried, tested, proven knowledge areas rather than being purely practice-based,” Kajewski said.
