Emerging professionals learn, share and influence at World Café event

Emerging professionals and rising stars in the project community connected with their peers online and discussed some of the most pressing issues facing the profession at a recent event.

The World Café – delivered in partnership by Association for Project Management (APM) and the Major Projects Association (MPA) – saw project practitioners who are relatively new to the profession take part in interactive discussions and gain advice from senior professionals.

The virtual event involved interactive workshops in which groups shared their thoughts and ideas on a range of topics, including the unique skills that emerging professionals can bring to the workplace, and how to involve end-users in projects in order to deliver desired benefits. Ideas were shared and discussed with the wider group to take everyone’s views into account.

We’ll be using points raised to inform our Projecting the Future debate; a big conversation about the biggest challenges facing the project profession.

Tim Banfield, APM Fellow and chair of our Projecting the Future Group, chaired the event. He said: “We’re now working in a fundamentally different world…Projects are now being seen as transformations. They’re not seen as delivering a ‘thing’. They’re seen as delivering an effect. As project professionals, we’re the people who deliver change.

“The more of us who come together, the more power we have to influence the future.”

Speaking after the event, attendee Josh Chana commented: “It was really good to meet people. Hopefully there will be more of these.”

Fellow attendee Claire Rimmer added: “I enjoyed the discussions and thought the way it was delivered was great. I’d definitely like to participate in something similar again.

Be part of something great

APM’s Emerging Professional Network is a community for like-minded people who are thinking about, or have recently started, a career in project management. It is exclusively for Student and Associate members. For more information about joining, contact Caspar Bartington, APM’s head of volunteer and education engagement.

If you’re an emerging professional or a student pursuing a career in project management, APM membership offers significant benefits that can help you succeed.