The University of Maryland Project Management Center for Excellence is proud to deliver its fourth annual Project Management Symposium, taking place May 4-5 at the University of Maryland College Park campus.

Last year’s Symposium drew a record breaking crowd of over 260 project management professionals from the Baltimore-Washington region and around the world that joined forces to tackle challenges impacting the project management field at large.

The two-day May 2017 event will feature five keynote speakers and over 50 technical sessions spread across five concurrent tracks.  Symposium attendees can customize their event experience by choosing to attend speaker sessions on a variety of project management topics including: Federal Programs, Agile & IT, Integrated Project Management, People in Projects, Construction Management and BIM, Risk and Big Data, Education, and Stakeholders. New this year, attendees who participate in a people in projects track will be able to choose from four specific focuses including change management, conflict resolution, motivation, and negotiation.  The full two-day agenda for the event is posted on the Symposium website and includes a description of each session along with speaker information.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer the project management community the opportunity to learn about such a wide array of topics from so many industry professionals…”

For those looking to maintain a PMI credential, the Symposium offers an opportunity to earn up to 13 professional development units (PDUs) in the PMI Talent Triangle.  Each presentation will specify which of the three talent triangle skills it will address.

A unique aspect of UMD’s Symposium is the sponsorship of three of its technical session tracks.  The Project Management Institute’s (PMI) Government Relations Office is sponsoring the Federal Programs track bringing experienced project managers to the participate in a panel on “Government Project Management in 2025.”  The Construction Management/BIM track is sponsored by the Maryland Center for Construction Education & Innovation (MCCEI) and the College of Performance Management is sponsoring the Integrated Project Management track.  All of these sponsors assist in the selection of session speakers and identify industry professionals willing to share their experiences and lessons learned.  John Cable indicated the importance of these sponsorships by stating, “The partnership with these three sponsors has enabled us to offer more focused information of direct interest to each sponsors networks and communities and that will provide an enriched experience for our Symposium attendees.”

“Our track sponsorships enable us to offer more focused information that will provide an enriched experience for our Symposium attendees.”

This year’s lineup of featured speakers is packing a powerful punch.  Kicking off day one is Jeff Gravatte who will pull from his experience as CEO and Owner of CADD Microsystems during his presentation on “Technology trends affecting project management in building design and construction.” Associate Director for the Decennial Census programs of the U.S. Census Bureau, Lisa Blumerman, will discuss “Counting Our Nation: How Project Management Paves the Way.”  Wrapping up day one is Vice President and on-site Project Executive for the MGM project for Symposium conference sponsor the Whiting-Turner Contracting Company, Patricia Carper, who will cover the many facets of the $1.3B development of the “MGM National Harbor Project” in Oxon Hill, MD that opened in December 2016. The next morning, Dr. Karl Wunderlich of Noblis will present, “Creating a System of Automated and Connected Vehicles” and share his world-view on how decentralized control of the shared transportation system resource can be influenced to reduce risks and meet the demands of the emerging mobility consumer.  Rounding out the keynote presentations on day two is Stephen A. Shinn of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center who will discuss the cultural challenges project managers face when leading complex technical missions and will share approaches to ensure success in a changing environment.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer the project management community the opportunity to learn about such a wide array of topics from so many industry professionals willing and eager to share their experiences and lessons learned,” said John H. Cable, Director of UMD’s Project Management Center for Excellence.

This year’s symposium is projected to draw record-breaking attendance so those interested in participating are strongly encouraged to register in advance of the April 2nd early-bird deadline.  Registration rates for government, military and non-profits is only $325 for the two day event if they register by the early bird deadline.  PMI members can also register at this rate until April 2^nd.

For more information, or to register, visit the UMD Project Management Symposium website.

The UMD Project Management Center for Excellence would like to thank our Symposium sponsors. Funding to develop and deliver the symposium each year comes from attendee registration and sponsorship fees.  After covering event expenses, any remaining funds are used to provide scholarships to students pursuing a degree in project management. As part of the registration process, any symposium attendee is also invited to donate funds specifically designated for scholarships if they choose.

Gold Sponsors:  CADD Microsystems and  The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company

Silver Sponsor: Clark Construction Group LLC

Track sponsors: College of Performance Management,  Maryland Center for Construction Education & Innovation (MCCEI), and Project Management Institute (PMI) Government Relations Office,

Bronze Sponsors:  Gilbane Building Company, Grimm and Parker, HITT Contracting Inc., iTech AG, Project Management Experts, PMI Southern Maryland Chapter, and UMD Office of Advanced Engineering Education.

Media sponsor: Project Management World Journal.