Global Launch of the Executive Diploma

in Project Management (EDPM) Program –

A unique offering

COMMENTARY

By Adesh Jain

Chairman, International Institute of Projects and Program Management
Founder, World Project Management Forum

New Delhi, India

Introduction

This article describes the Executive Diploma in Project Management (EDPM) Program, one of the most ambitious, progressive and practical executive PM training and certification programs in the world.  The EDPM program draws on key elements from many leading education and certification programs around the world, widely-accepted global best practices, and the knowledge and expertise of participating global experts. Focusing on the great need for more comprehensive knowledge about project and program management among executives in many countries, and especially in developing economies, the EDPM is not only reasonably priced but also accelerated to help participants learn faster. It has already attracted participation of executives and professionals across the globe.

We think the EDPM is best described as the next generation of executive project management training as it is aimed at preparing leaders for Industry 4.0 today.  Leaders in today’s complex, rapidly-changing, technologically-dynamic, project-based global economy no longer have the luxury of years-long training and certification programs.  The EDPM program is intended to address that new reality.

Part 1 – The Recent Past and Present

“Knowledge that does not change behaviour is useless.”
              –    Dr. YN Harari, author of Homo Deus and Sapiens

“Knowing is not enough, we must apply.”
            –   Goethe, Philosopher

The above 2 quotes capture the basic purpose of education. Knowledge is scaler as it only has magnitude, but once applied it becomes a Vector with both magnitude and direction. We are educated in various fields like engineering or medical science but when practicing in changing the real world, we apply what we learnt and develop new connects (synapses) in our neural network.

Knowledge is no doubt the first step in building a good foundation, but it is naïve to think that one has become a good professional merely by passing a knowledge-based examination that requires choosing 1 out of 4 or 5 options. Becoming a professional certainly demands that one’s credential shows application of the knowledge in the real world. When we say learning, it is not just theoretical framework that we enhance and memorise but its application at work and using the feedback system to learn from the application of the knowledge. Dr. Harari’s input that knowledge is useless unless it changes behaviour certainly gives credential to my writing. Though the learning may have a discrete beginning it has a continuous end. Learning never ends. Learning is the combination of new knowledge, new applications and new understanding, and this cycle continues forever.

Today the world is dominated by knowledge-based project management certifications. The pedagogy of the examination is based on generally selecting 1 option out of 4 or 5 options with an x number of questions covering different aspects of skills to be measured while assessing the correctness of the answer. The examination generally has one composite paper that is not broken up into sub-sections that must be cleared section wise by obtaining a minimum % of right answers in a given section of skill/competency assessment.

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How to cite this article: Jain, A. (2021). Global Launch of the Executive Diploma in Project Management (EDPM) Program – a unique offering; Commentary, PM World Journal, Vol. X, Issue VII, July. Available online at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/pmwj107-Jul2021-Jain-launch-of-EDPM-program-commentary.pdf

About the Author

Adesh Jain

New Delhi, India

 Adesh Jain is the Chairman of International Institute of Projects and Program Management (i2P2M), a not-for-profit company.  In 2019, he founded the World Project Management Forum (WPMF) which was endorsed by 37 thought leaders from all the continents.  Adesh is a former President and Chair of the Council of Delegates for the International Project Management Association (IPMA). Till date, he also happenes to be the only non-European to be President of IPMA in its history of 56 years. Adesh’s career includes 50+ years of project-oriented work, including projects for Litton Industries and Control Data Corporation in Canada from 1967 to 1973 in the field of artificial intelligence and supercomputing. In 1973, Adesh returned to India with the mission of making India strong in computing technology being primitive at that time. He held No. 2 position in one of the largest steel plants in India in IT and project management.

In 1975, Adesh was asked by Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited, the largest Indian Government engineering undertaking, to head their IT and Project Management services, and was the youngest CEO ever to head a division there. In 1979, under his leadership, a complete network of mainframe computers was established in the manufacturing units of BHEL with the corporate office.  He became Chairman of the Heavy Engineering Computing Group of 22 major companies in 1982.  In 1991, the President of India honored him with a Fellowship award for laying a strong foundation for the IT industry in India. He has since been conferred with 6 major awards in India, including the ‘Gem of India’ award.

Adesh started the Centre for Excellence in Project Management in 1992, and founded Project Management Associates (PMA), India – a-not-for-profit registered society in 1993.  He was elected to the steering committee for the Global PM Forum in 1996 and received a Distinguished Contribution Award from the Project Management Institute (PMI®) in the USA in 1997.  In January 1999, Adesh became the first non-European to be elected a Vice President of IPMA, serving three terms through 2004. He was elected President of IPMA for 2005 and IPMA Chair for two years beginning January 2007. In 2010, Government of Turkey released a postal stamp in his honor for his contribution in strengthening project management at a global level.

Adesh has addressed or trained over 100,000 people worldwide, has made over 40 keynote presentations, is author of the book “New Dimensions in Project Management” (1992) and Assorted Thoughts of Project Management (2014), and has authored over 50 articles on project management. In 2017, a book ‘Building a Project Oriented Society’ was released which covered his efforts since 1992 in nurturing a project mindset. Since 1999, Adesh has contributed significantly to modern PM in China where he has trained over 20,000 professionals. He is Honorary Chairman of the China Project Management Committee (CPMC). In 2001, he was invited to give a keynote presentation in the Great Hall of China at a UNIDO conference. Adesh has been a keynote speaker at major conferences in Abu Dhabi, China, Sweden, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Norway, Denmark and Turkey.  For the last thirty years, he has organized and managed the Global Symposiums on PM in New Delhi, and he was the organizer and project manager of the 19th IPMA World Congress held in New Delhi in November 2005, the first IPMA congress outside of Europe and the largest IPMA congress ever held.

Adesh Jain has a BS in Mathematics and BS in Electrical Engineering from the most prestigious Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and a MS in Control Systems from Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada.  Adesh received the IPMA Honorary Fellowship award in October 2006. He received the Honorary Fellowship of Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM) in 2011. In 2014, he received the Life Time Achievement Award for his contribution to project management for over 4 decades. Ge is often referred to as Bhishma Pitamah (the wise with authority) of Project Management as called by the former Petroleum Minister of Government of India.

Adesh lives in New Delhi, India but divides his time between Asia, India, Europe and the USA. He is married with 2 grown children.  He is an avid golfer. He can be contacted at chairman@i2p2m.com.