PPM Course Information

In choosing the project management course that is best for you, the first consideration is the selection of a reputable institution. It is also important to note the difference between degree courses in project management and project management training courses. The training courses (which include both short courses and more comprehensive certificate courses) are normally of shorter duration than degree courses and focus more on practical skills development and on the application of practical methods in the workplace. Training courses generally do not have an extensive final examination. Some universities teach both formal degree programmes in project management and project management training courses. At these universities, training courses benefit much from the degree courses. Research done by the lecturers at these universities also drastically improve the quality of their training courses.
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What is project management training?

Before we can explain what project-management training is, we first need to explain what project management is and what a project manager is. The PMI (Project Management Institute) defines project management as the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements, and they define a project manager as the person assigned by the performing organization to lead the team that is responsible for achieving the project objectives. The International Project Management Association emphasises the development of competence and they define project management competence as the relevant knowledge, skills and abilities to manage a project.
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Our Project Management course is tailored for individuals seeking to excel in today's competitive business environment. As industries swiftly adjust to market demands, the role of adept project managers becomes paramount. Participate in-person – face-to-face with a lecturer and a peer group – during set predetermined days in Pretoria.

Thousands of people have already benefitted from the Programme in Project Management (PPM). It has been presented in contact classes more than 200 times since 1997. The PPM is therefore well known in industry. The content is updated regularly to keep up with new developments.
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A comprehensive program designed to equip you with the necessary knowledge and skills to excel in the project management field. Participate in-person – face-to-face with a lecturer and a peer group – Fridays and Saturdays in Pretoria.

Thousands of people have already benefitted from the Programme in Project Management (PPM). It has been presented in contact classes more than 200 times since 1997. The PPM is therefore well known in industry. The content is updated regularly to keep up with new developments.
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The next course intake dates are as follow:

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The difficulty of choosing a project management course

How should one choose a continuing education course in project management?

A vast number of project management courses are available; shorter ones with durations from two to five days and more advanced, longer ones – typically two years for master’s degree courses (and of course longer for PhD programmes in project management). These courses come at a range of prices from free online courses to quite expensive courses with extensive residential blocks.

People often wonder whether they should opt for a generic project management course or for a specialized course such as an Agile project management course, an IT project management course, a construction management course or a course on project leadership.
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The project management course is fully online, and you work whenever and wherever it suits you – no travelling and no leave from work are required. Any scheduled interactive session will be recorded so that you can view it when it suits you. This is a comprehensive, fully online eight module PPM course (equivalent to the 20-day attendance course).

Thousands of people have already benefitted from the Programme in Project Management (PPM). It has been presented in contact classes more than 200 times since 1997. The PPM is therefore well known in industry. It has been presented online since 2020. The content is updated regularly to keep up with new developments.
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This practical project management short course introduces project management basics needed for project success and teaches a process to generate a basic project plan, including a project schedule.

The course is fully online, and you work whenever and wherever it suits you – no travelling and no leave from work is required. Any scheduled interactive session will be recorded so that you can view it when it suits you.

Thousands of people have already benefitted from the Online Short Course on Project Management Principles, Practices and Scheduling. The content is updated regularly to keep up with new developments.
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The difficulty of choosing a project management course

The PPM is a practical project management training course to equip project managers and aspiring project managers with appropriate project management skills. The list below gives merely some indication of typical skills taught. Please note that the outcomes and assessment methods vary from year to year, from intake to intake and depending on the lecturers presenting the training modules. The University reserves the right to make any significant changes to the content of the PPM training course without any notification. This document therefore does not imply any commitment on the side of the University or any of its agents.

As the objective is the development of project management skills, several interactive group events take place during the course but the assessments indicated below excludes work done in groups that do not contribute to the final grade. Although contact time on the Weekend course offering is less than on courses presented during the week, the outcomes are nominally the same.
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The University of Pretoria contributes significantly to the development of project management skills in other African countries.

A number of people from other African countries are enrolled on the 4^th intake of the 20-day project management training course, the Programme in Project Management (Referred to as PPM 4 of 2015).

Countries represented include:

Zimbabwe (3 people – including one from the World Bank)
Malawi
Namibia
Ethiopia (from the African Union Commission)
Nigeria
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Education and project management skills development training at the University of Pretoria has a long history; the discipline was already well established in the Department of Civil Engineering in the 1980s. Project management is a multi-disciplinary field of study and, as a credible, large multi-disciplinary university, it was recognized that the University of Pretoria is ideally suited to lead in this field.

While short courses had been offered before, a more comprehensive (16 to 20 days on campus) continuing education program, the PPM, was launched in 1997 and was later supplemented by a more advanced programme with similar duration for people who completed the PPM successfully. In January 1999 the MPM (Masters in Project Management) programme was launched. This programme obtained the accreditation of the Global Accreditation Center of the Project Management Institute (PMI) in 2008 and it is currently still the only programme on the African Continent with this status. While the MPM is specifically aimed at graduate engineers and scientists, the PPM benefits from the MPM as the PPM is to a large extent taught by the same lecturers.
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