PM PhilanthropistYour Gifts in Action | June 2015

PMI Educational Foundation would like to ensurethat we have your most current information.

Please click below to update your information.

DEVELOPING PM-­KNOWLEDGEABLEYOUTH THROUGHSTUDENTCOMPETITIONS

Student competitions become evenmore valuable when they introduceyoung people to projectmanagement.

DONOR SPOTLIGHT:HELEN S. COOKE, PMP

SEE HOW YOURDONATIONS ARE MAKINGA DIFFERENCE

SCHOLARSHIPAPPLICATION REMINDER

From PMIEF's formative years untiltoday, Helen S. Cooke remainscommitted to the idea that projectmanagement can and should beleveraged for social good.

Your support of PMIEF has real impact,seen in the lives of students newlyequipped with project managementskills.

PMIEF Professional DevelopmentScholarships deadline approaching:July 31. Apply now.

The Project Management Institute® Educational Foundation logo, the slogan Project Management for Social Good®, PMI, and PMBOK Guide are registered marksof Project Management Institute, Inc. For a comprehensive list of trademarks, contact the PMI Legal Department.

If you no longer wish to receive this email series, use this link to Unsubscribe.

Click here to forward this email to a friend.

© Copyright 2015 -­ Project Management Institute Educational Foundation (PMIEF)

DEVELOPING PM-­KNOWLEDGEABLE YOUTHTHROUGH STUDENT COMPETITIONSFor young people facing the robust requirements of studentcompetitions, the work involved can seem daunting. As in reallife, the application of project management principles can makeall the difference in the world. Student competitions create theideal forum through which to introduce young people to projectmanagement because they engage them in experiential learningthat requires not only “doing” a project, but carefully managingit from inception to implementation.

PMIEF recently awarded grants to two organizations, DestinationImagination and DiscoverE, to incorporate the teaching ofproject management principles into their student competitions.As a result, students are being introduced to and becomingexperienced in using project management strategies that can beapplied for success in college, career, and everyday life.

PMIEF’s investment in DiscoverE and Destination Imagination supports these organizations in their effort to revise theircompetition curricula and related materials in order to thoroughly integrate project management into the student experience.

Destination ImaginationWith growing cultural interdependency and a critical need for solving complex problems quickly and creatively, anunderstanding of the creative process—teamwork, creativity, imagination, and collaborative problem solving—is essential.

With 30-­plus years of experience, Destination Imagination currently reaches 200,000 youth and 38,000 adult mentors. Theorganization’s annual competition enables students to strengthen their critical thinking and creative skills through challenge-­based programs in one of seven focus areas: technical, scientific, fine arts, improvisational, structural and service learning (inaddition to a non-­competitive early learning challenge). Teams may showcase their innovative solutions to these challenges at atournament and those that advance past regional and state/country (affiliate) tournaments are invited to participate in GlobalFinals, the world's largest celebration of creativity.

Kris Beisel, Destination Imagination’s Director of Global Affiliate Strategy and Administration, articulated the purpose and valueof the grant to their competition. “We are excited to solidify the learning that comes through our competition around projectmanagement. We have been doing it, but now we will be infusing our process and materials with project management tools andlanguage.”

Beisel also noted that the integration of the project management structure helps the adult team managers guide the studentstoward progress without offering their own ideas. Students can discern on their own what to do or think about next. They havea structure for moving the project along from inception to implementation.

DiscoverE’s Future City programDiscoverE’s Future City program is the only national engineering contest for 40,000 students (grades 6-­8) in the U.S. Itprovides a project-­based learning experience for students to apply math and science to imagine, design, and plan a city of thefuture that addresses real-­world problems like feeding and transporting future populations. Students work as a team with aneducator and engineer mentor to plan cities using SimCity™ software;; research and write solutions to an engineering problem;;build tabletop scale models with recycled materials;; and present their vision to a panel of judges.

According to Thea Sahr, Director of Programs at DiscoverE, “PMIEF is helping us make Future City a richer experience,equipping students with more transferable skills and a plan for how to take on this project and the next.”

The PMIEF grant provided a unique and very valuable opportunity that Sahr was quick to point out. She said, “Not-­for-­profitsdon’t often get to step back and review an existing program. Because of PMIEF, we have been able to make a thoroughassessment and have been provided an opportunity to formally integrate project management into the Future City process. Itwill take Future City to the next level.”

The revised Future City curricula will utilize many PMIEF resources: Careers in Project Management, Project Management Skillsfor Life, Project Management Toolkit for Youth, and the Project Management Toolkit for Teachers.

Once the piloted materials are released nationally, they are expected to ultimately reach 40,000 middle school students and2,000 teachers and mentors.

According to Sahr, a small group of teachers participated in a Future City pilot program in 2014 to provide feedback on therevised curricula now that project management has been integrated into them. They agreed that the addition of the projectmanagement framework to the curricula provides a logical sequencing that is very helpful because it marries the engineeringprocess with project management, resulting in a clear and consolidated roadmap for participants to follow throughout thecompetition.

Students also gave feedback indicating the success of the pilot. One said, “We knew what we were doing and didn’t feel like wewere winging it.”

Impact of Student CompetitionsStudent competitions foster development of 21st century skills illcuding the 4Cs -­ collaboration, creativity, communication, andcritical thinking – that are inherent to project management. They provide challenges, foster innovation, promote excellence, andgive students an opportunity to both strengthen and showcase talents. Competitions create the ideal forum for introducingyoung people to project management, and when that happens, the value they offer students (as well as teachers and mentors)becomes even greater. This is why PMIEF lends its support to organizations like Destination Imagination and DiscoverE.

Shortly after observing the presentations at Destination Imagination’s Global Finals, Beisel’s words of reflection offer insightabout the value and impact of PMIEF’s grants to student competitions. “Life is project management. Whether it is home life,homework, or writing an essay of application for college, these students will know how to plan their steps to get the results theywant. When I watch these teams at Global Finals, my jaw drops at what these kids can accomplish and the difference thisexperience makes in their lives.”

The Project Management Institute® Educational Foundation logo, the slogan Project Management for Social Good®, PMI, and PMBOK Guide are registered marksof Project Management Institute, Inc. For a comprehensive list of trademarks, contact the PMI Legal Department.

If you no longer wish to receive this email series, use this link to Unsubscribe.

DONOR SPOTLIGHT: HELEN S. COOKE, PMPThroughout her 25 years of experience in project management, Helen S. Cooke has remained committed tothe idea that project management can and should be leveraged for social good. According to Cooke,whether it is building bridges, solving agricultural problems, or disaster relief, social problems are bettersolved in the context of project management.

Cooke put this idea into action as she played an integral role in the development of PMI’s EducationalFoundation. She recalled the early years of shaping its vision and said, “We were setting the goal ofundertaking ‘goose bump’ projects. That meant looking for projects outside of PMI’s normal boundaries.Projects that would not happen at all without project management. Projects so exciting, they would givegoose bumps.”

This initial goal has become a reality within PMIEF, and Cooke has remained an ardent supporter.

“To me,” Cooke continued, “seeing students without privilege gain project management skills and access tools to manage theirfutures and achieve goals—that gives me goose bumps.”

Currently serving as CPO at OPM Mentors in Chicago, a consulting practice that specializes in advancing the maturity oforganizations to deliver strategic objectives through projects, Cooke’s past accomplishments include creation of a ProjectManagement Office at United Airlines, leading McDonalds Corporation's Project Management Center of Excellence, leading aprofit-­and-­loss consulting practice at Deloitte for ten years, and acting as mid-­level grants manager in the federal government.

Involved with PMIEF in the early days, Cooke helped grow the foundation. She served on the PMIEF board for two terms and inbetween the terms, she went on a delegation trip with the PMI Chicagoland Chapter to Cape Town, South Africa where thevision for the life-­skill project was initiated.

Though she has never sought the spotlight, Helen S. Cooke has contributed to PMIEF in valuable ways deserving recognition.Her influence and impact continue today.

The Project Management Institute® Educational Foundation logo, the slogan Project Management for Social Good®, PMI, and PMBOK Guide are registered marksof Project Management Institute, Inc. For a comprehensive list of trademarks, contact the PMI Legal Department.

If you no longer wish to receive this email series, use this link to Unsubscribe.

SEE HOW YOUR DONATIONS ARE MAKING ADIFFERENCEYour support of the PMI Educational Foundation greatly impacts the lives of students and communities throughout the world.Watch and hear why your contribution is so important. In learning project management, these students have received aninvestment that will last a lifetime.

The Project Management Institute® Educational Foundation logo, the slogan Project Management for Social Good®, PMI, and PMBOK Guide are registered marksof Project Management Institute, Inc. For a comprehensive list of trademarks, contact the PMI Legal Department.

If you no longer wish to receive this email series, use this link to Unsubscribe.

Scholarship Application ReminderGlobal scholarships for professional development are awarded annually in varying amounts.

The Project Management Institute has donated PMI Chapter Milestone Professional Development Scholarships to chaptersthat have reached their 30-­year, 35-­year, and 40-­year milestones.

Several former PMI Communities of Practice have donated professional development scholarships for projectmanagement practitioners.

Deadline: July 31

Descriptions, criteria, and applications are available at PMIEF.org.

The Project Management Institute® Educational Foundation logo, the slogan Project Management for Social Good®, PMI, and PMBOK Guide are registered marksof Project Management Institute, Inc. For a comprehensive list of trademarks, contact the PMI Legal Department.

If you no longer wish to receive this email series, use this link to Unsubscribe.