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Sign InUNNC wins PMI China University PMO Management Innovation Award
On 18 November, Project Management Office (PMO) of the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC) was awarded the University PMO Management Innovation Award at the 2023 Project Management Institute (PMI) conference, one of the most influential project management awards in China.
PMI, a world leading professional association in the field of project management, launched the PMI China Project Management Award in 2010. In 2023, a total of 13 organisations received awards, including leading organisations such as Bosch, ZTE, and AliCloud.
As the first Sino-foreign university in China, UNNC has set the tone of being innovative. Although leading practice PMOs are typically found in commercial organisations, UNNC’s Strategy and Planning PMO has successfully introduced project management at UNNC through making strategic planning, contributing innovative ideas and conducting effective stakeholder management. The PMO’s efforts have ensured that operational excellence and efficient governance have kicked off a new era of the role that PMO can play beyond the traditional industry boundaries, bringing the influence for their local counterparts and promoting the development of PMO in China’s educational sector. Winning the award is testament to the hard work undertaken by UNNC’s PMO and all of the teams and individuals who have delivered projects at UNNC over the past three years.
At the PMO sub-forum held on 19 November, Tom Murphy, the Chief Financial and Planning Officer of UNNC, delivered a keynote speech. Combining practical experience of the UNNC Strategic and Planning PMO and his in-depth insights into the industry and the market, he shared the exploration, development and innovative initiatives of project management at UNNC.
Tom said that since its establishment in 2020, the UNNC PMO has been committed to developing programme and project management maturity as a core capability within the university, ensuring visibility of the project from all dimensions to enable it to be managed effectively and efficiently in achievement of its business objectives, and providing insights in leading the university’s development in both business objectives and governance framework.
“Only approximately 20% of domestic top universities have succeeded in establishing a PMO, with an even lower percentage dedicated to strategic planning and project management at a university level. Though higher education PMOs have been established for a relatively short period of time and with a lower level of maturity, they have great potential for future development.” Tom pointed out that there is a noticeable gap between different educational systems as well as in governance, project characteristics and operation mode between higher education and corporate PMOs. Therefore, higher education institutes need to take their own characteristics into consideration when setting up PMOs, implementing customised measures to enable the PMOs to realise their full potential.