Kieran is upgrading his qualifications and immersing himself in learning.
About Kieran
I’m studying a Master of Project Management part time and am in my final year. I’m from Sydney Australia, am an amateur DIYer and I really enjoy working on my side construction projects, whether it’s something simple like building a new planter box for my citrus trees or tackling something more ambitious like planning and building a deck.
Why Project Management?
I was interested in project management careers – and have done project management roles previously – but I didn’t have as much “pure” project management experience as others my age who’d been working in one project management role after another for decades (I’m in my mid-40s now). I wanted to improve my employment and promotion opportunities by bolstering my experience with some really solid qualifications, so a Master degree was a great next step. I only have a Bachelor degree currently, so it made sense to upgrade my qualifications.
I chose UTS because it had a great, practical project management program, and because I had already started a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt at the UTS Business School, I knew UTS was a very good university with an emphasis on practical application as well as theory.
I’ve really enjoyed the highly interactive course. It’s a great mix of simulated exercises and theory, which the lecturers obviously put a huge amount of effort into planning. For instance, we did a fantastic Agile Scrum simulation last semester where we worked in groups to create a mock-up of a device to help people with disabilities, working in Trello to plan and prioritise our requirements for each sprint, and then competed with the other groups to pitch our solution, which was a brilliant learning experience.
What’s Next
Currently I’m exploring multiple avenues – entrepreneurship, further study and research, and career options post-graduation. I’m not quite sure what the future holds for me right now so I’m keeping my options open.
My advice to incoming students is to pace it, and use your time here as an opportunity to absorb as much information as you can. Don’t just focus on getting that piece of paper.
There’s an Albert Einstein quote I love: “Education is not [just] the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think”. If you immerse yourself in your learning, you’ll learn ways of thinking that will help you in your work and life. (I added “just” because I think learning facts is important too.)
- Read more about the Master of Project Management and Graduate Certificate in Project Management