context

The context of the EuroMPM implemented at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Dortmund
The European Master in Project Management is based upon the cooperation with **partner universities** - mainly the University of the Basque Country in Bilbao and NTNU in Trondheim. There is an exchange of students and staff, ....

The EuroMPM has mostly foreign students, students coming from the entire world - coming with their cultural heritage and their languages. Teaching in EuroMPM in Dortmund is a multicultural event - and an experience no book can tell. We speak about 20 languages in a class - of course not every day - but we can. And it is indeed an experience when students from Turkey and Azerbaijan communicate in Turkish language, and when in a course on standards for example a student from Africa can make contributions on GOST standards in Russian language - and can make comparisons with French standards - because French is his native language and Russian the language of a prior study course in Eastern Europe. But of course besides such adventures the EuroMPM in Dortmund is based upon English.

Students in EuroMPM are a bit older than students in similar programmes. Many students graduated even from more than one prior programme and some of them also have work experience. We had students from Pakistan that came as young lecturers to attend a modern programme in Europe and go back home to contribute to the development of higher education in their home country. Such graduates often continue with ph.d. studies - so far mostly in Kassel and Dortmund. These students are supported by their government and also supervised by DAAD.

There are further universities that do not share the study programme but establish further links to the EuroMPM. Since 2007 there is a joint workshop with Prof. Konrad Spang and his students in Kassel - one year the workshop is organized in Kassel, the following year in Dortmund, etc. In January the joint workshop was on compliance.

There are links to companies and association that shape the study programme. Important companies are for example RWE, EON, ThyssenKrupp, and Hella. Important associations are PMI, DIIR, eCl@ss, and others. There are open workshops organized by students and staff of the EuroMPM with partners from PMI mainly PMI chapter Cologne. Contributions on project audit are linked to the project audit group at DIIR (Deutsches Institut für Interne Revision), There is a well established cooperation with eCl@ss dealing with the development of the classification of commodities and services. Several research results developed in EuroMPM contributed to the development of the classification standard of eCl@ss. EuroMPM staff holds leading positions in PMICC, eCl@ss, DIIR and further associations. Each year there are site visits at the headquarters of eCl@ss in Cologne. Skills and competencies of EuroMPM students well recognized at eCl@ss. With there language skills they contribute directly to the development of eCl@ss. One example was a review of the classification of commodities in the medical section in Turkey. Research results of EuroMPM are also used now to harmonize class structures and properties of commodities in eCl@ss and to support to implementation of new data models.

Since 2007 each year in spring the second semester students of EuroMPM were invited by RWE Poland to a workshop at the headquarters of RWE Poland, organized by the CFO Dr. Werner Wetekamp.

A graduate of EuroMPM holds a ph.d. research position at RWE in Essen in the Desertec project (solar energy from Africa). The ph.d. thesis is embedded in the ph.d. study programme on project management at the University of the Basque Country in Bilbao - course directors of EuroMPM are promoters of this thesis.

The main request for study places in EuroMPM in 2010 was from Azerbaijan - directly or through DAAD. In Azerbaijan there is a fast growing economy based upon oil and gas sources, now or soon within reach from Europe thru new pipelines. The first graduate from Azerbaijan in EuroMPM is now manager for environmental issues at SOCAR, the state oil company of Azerbaijan. And SOCAR sponsored his studies in Dortmund, and also further students in Dortmund. So EuroMPM has a real impact on projects in other parts of the world.

Conferences play a significant role in EuroMPM. Conferences give us the opportunity to present and discuss research results. Conferences are analysed as projects often with a well developed and standardized project organization. Staff and students are organizers of International Research Conferences in Dortmund, contributors and co-organizers of [|IEEE IDAACS] and conferences at the [|University of Latvia] in Riga since years, contributors to IPMA World Congress (Helsinki, Ljubljana, ...), contributors to Conferences at the University of Northern Florida since years, and involved in further conferences.

[|IEEE IDAACS] has a special stream on project management since 2011 - based upon an initiative of the EuroMPM. In 2007 IEEE IDAACS was organized at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Dortmund - it was the first opportunity to present and discuss research results of EuroMPM. A course director of EuroMPM was co-founder of IEEE IDAACS in 2000, today several professors of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Dortmund are in various committees of IEEE IDAACS.