Mastering project management – from sport to education

With on-the-job experience managing multiple projects at Football Tasmania, Glen took the chance to go further in the field of project management, enrolling in the Master of Project Management at Victoria University.

Now a Senior Consultant at the Institute of Project Management, Glen trains other professionals on how to manage projects more efficiently and effectively.

“When I started my Master of Project Management at Victoria University, I was working as a Competition and Club Development Manager at Football Tasmania.

It was mid-2020 and there were so many unknowns. We were running lots of projects to keep people engaged with football: sharing videos with players on how to practise in the backyard, modelling new competitions, engaging with NPL-level presidents and consulting with Football Australia."

Widespread demand for project management skills

"I wanted to learn how to deliver and manage projects better. I also saw the opportunity across other industries, with widespread demand for project management skills.

I completed the masters online: it included Zoom classes a couple of nights a week and self-paced study. Assessments were a combination of exams, assignments and presentations.

I enjoyed it when lecturers came in from industry and shared their expertise. They gave examples of some of the challenges facing project managers. I’ve been able to connect with them and open up my network. We also applied our learning to real-world examples.

I also applied the skills I learnt in class to my job. In the second half of 2020, at Football Tasmania we rolled out a program to improve governance in clubs, as well as adding layers of protection for our participants by running Member Protection workshops."

Unique, temporary & disruptive

"I enjoy working in projects because they are unique, temporary and disruptive. You have to respond to the challenges that come with that, and use leadership management skills to deal with the conflict that can arise.

The Masters helped me to understand the framework that I was already working in, and apply it to new contexts. It also gave me the tools to be able to run projects more effectively and efficiently."

From student to teacher

"At the start of 2021 I started my current position as Senior Consultant at the Institute of Project Management. We deliver diploma and certificate-level project management training to organisations across Tasmania, including Hydro Tasmania, TasNetworks and the Tas Catholic Education Office.

We give organisations and teams a holistic view of what project management means, including project requirements, stakeholder management, risk and agile. We also teach across a wide range of platforms including Microsoft Projects, Jira, Confluence, Monday.com, Trello and Click Up.

I enjoy seeing students gain an understanding of where projects fit into their organisations, and how projects differ from business as usual. Students are engaged, they realise there is opportunity in the market, for not only project managers but also people with project management skills.

I am really interested in progressing further with my studies with a PhD in IT Project Management. My interest is in hybrid agile methodologies for practitioners.”

Interested in a career in project management?

Develop the skills to manage complex projects in changing environments with VU – from short courses to TAFE to undergraduate and postgraduate options.

Browse our project management courses