Course Title: Project Management for Research

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Project Management for Research

Credit Points: 12.00

Course Code

Campus

Career

School

Learning Mode

Teaching Period(s)

Course Coordinator: Prof Robin Usher

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 8341

Course Coordinator Email: robin.usher@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: 91.2

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

A requirement is that the student be enrolled as a HDR student for the period of 1 year before applying.

Registration is by application only to Helen Lennox, Graduate Research Office, Research & Innovation

Course Description

This course will develop skills that will enable you to assess, plan and manage a chosen research project as a basis for learning about project management lifecycles and generic project management processes, including initiating, planning, executing, controlling and evaluating the project. It will introduce you to techniques for managing the project’s stakeholders as well as those regarding its scope, time, cost, quality, communication, procurement and risk.

You will participate and interact in the online learning environment provided by this unit in a variety of ways, including:
 Reading and responding to online content
 Participating in online interactions such as forums and chat sessions
 Engaging in formal assessment tasks (reading, reflecting, responding, writing, discussing)

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

On successful completion of this course you will be able to:
 Understand Project Management processes and apply them to the effective management of chosen research projects
 Distinguish project content from project management
 Produce a clear and useful definition and plan to help manage a research project
 Assess the needs of a particular project for more detailed and specific planning
 Reflect on and learn from the development and application of techniques to improve the management of future projects.

As above

Overview of Learning Activities

You will participate and interact in the online learning environment provided by this unit in a variety of ways, including:
 Reading and responding to online content
 Participating in online interactions such as forums and chat sessions
 Engaging in formal assessment tasks (reading, reflecting, responding, writing, discussing)

Overview of Learning Resources

Resources for learning
This is an online course. Set texts and other reading material will be available. There are online quizzes, case studies and activities that will help you reflect on your ongoing learning.

Reference materials are provided online in the unit’s ‘Resources’ section and throughout the body of the website. They include:
 Documents for download
 Links to offsite websites and web pages

You will also have access to:
 An online chat facility
 A personal journal/blog site
 Online discussion forums

Overview of Assessment

Assessment is capabilities based. You must demonstrate that the articulated capabilities for the course have been achieved.
Your assessment tasks will relate to your professional life and work needs and will require that you are able to critique and advance your understanding of your workplace and/or your research program(s). Assessment tasks will include those skills traditionally related to postgraduate study, such as critical reading and writing, and will extend to project work, online collaborative tasks, needs analyses, case study analyses. Outcomes will include project plans and reports. A range of assessment tasks will be used in each unit and all assessment tasks will be criterion referenced.
Summative Assessment
a) Online forum
Each course has an online moderated discussion forum. You must participate in the forum since part of the overall assessment will be based on your participation.
Weight: 50%
b) Assignment (Project Plan)
You will choose a project, either your own research project or another you might be currently involved in and develop a Project Definition and Project Plan. You will be assisted through this process by completing a number of exercises that will appear throughout the module.
Weight: 50%