For pre-application to MScPE, just fill in this application form and return it to
✉ IX ACADEMICS ADMISSIONS
Master of Science in Projects Engineering
Graduates of this programme are well-equipped to deal with real projects in real settings, at a significantly advanced level of project expertise.
The Project Engineering curriculum originally designed by Oxford Academics is relatively unique in two ways:
- it adopts an engineering as opposed to a management approach to achieving success in complex projects, and
- it assembles academic and professional bodies of knowledge to treat the scope and depth of issues encountered in today’s complex, fast-moving and cost-critical project environments.
The distinction between Project Engineering and Project Management is deliberate and meaningful. For each project, Project Engineering consists in designing, optimising and organising adequate Project Management and Project Governance.
The overall aim of the Project Engineering curriculum is to enable students to define, optimise and operate project management in an effective and efficient way:
- development of analytical, pragmatic logics in diagnosing project situations,
- and applying appropriate methods, tools and techniques.
The programme has been developed over more than 20 years in both professional and academic settings.
This balance between professional exigency and academic insight constitutes a cornerstone of the programme. Participants not only study academic theory and research, but also encounter the current “best practice” and experience of world-class companies, together with the profession’s most respected professional bodies (PRINCE2, AACE, PMI’s PMBoK, IPMA’s ICB).
Graduates of this programme are well-equipped to deal with real projects in real settings, at a significantly advanced level of project expertise.
The entire programme is split into three different parts:
- Executive Certificate in Project Engineering (modules IA7101, IA7102 and IA7103) is aimed at engineering project management at a tactical level.
- With Executive Diploma in Project Engineering focus is given to integration of project management into larger environment: system view for IA7201, project portfolio for IA7202 and research prospectives for IA7203. Executive Diploma in Project Engineering is aimed at both tactical and strategic levels of project engineering. Executive Diploma in Project Engineering is made of Executive Certificate in Project Engineering first, followed by modules IA7201, IA7202 and IA7203.
- Last part (equivalent to three modules) is totally dedicated to Research Dissertation.
For the first six modules, student progression is based upon the basic sequence as follows:
- Presentation (either by instructor or from case studies) of a number of techniques, tools and methods
- Individual experience through labs and experiments
- Group discussions on field of application and values
- Group application on simple cases
- Individual application on more dedicated cases
- Individual review of application developed by other students
- Group review of application developed by other groups of students
A number of on-line resources are made available to this programme to enable students to review course presentations afterward.
In addition to face-to-face support available at the four-day block teaching sessions and weekly tutorial sessions, students will be able to contact their assigned tutor for support via email, phone, zoom or Skype. The Link Tutor will also be available to field local enquiries from students and, if necessary, put them in touch with relevant Study Skills support staff.
Two Staff Student Liaison Meetings take place each year.
During the dissertation phase students have regular meetings with their allocated supervisor.
In order to achieve an appropriate mix of assessment of knowledge, understanding and skills, a blend of assessment methods is required:
knowledge and understanding, appraisal of literature and systems, projects, presentations; thinking or cognitive skills, coursework exercises, projects/dissertation, presentations; practical skills; coursework exercises, project work; transferable/key skills; reports, presentations, reflection through work based learning support and group presentation, coursework exercises, projects/dissertation, presentations; practical skills; coursework exercises, project work; transferable/key skills; reports, presentations, reflection through work based learning support and group presentation.
Subject to the overall pattern of assessment conforming to this strategy, each module is assessed by the most appropriate types of assessment, suitably weighted.
Assessment and reassessment methods are detailed in the module outlines. There are clear assessment criteria and a marking scheme for every assessment. Marking schemes identify levels of performance against specific learning outcomes. They indicate how the final mark will be derived, and are designed to facilitate second marking and constructive feedback to students from the tutor.
Knowledge and Understanding
Construction of requirement baseline (including making requirements measurable and characterized) and definition baseline.
Both economic and strategic value analysis of projects.
Identification of ILS (Integrated Logistic Support) as an answer to RAMS requirements (Reliability, Availability, Maintainability and Safety).
Methods to estimate time and cost in projects.
Methods to evaluate performance status during execution.
Application of Earned Value Management (EVM).
Integration of project management into project portfolio management.
Application of modern research methods to project engineering.
Thinking or Cognitive Skills
How to assure the “best price” for a project.
Diagnosis of most common failure/success factors in projects.
Recognition of critical decisions to be made in key situations before and during the project.
Key orientation in situations where project control is not common sense any more.
Management of both “strong and weak interactions” between projects.
To combine critical review of research with standard and tools environment for project engineering.
Practical Skills
Construction of Project Baseline Plan and Project Management Plan.
Manage experience from previous projects to mitigate project execution failures.
Contract negotiation and management.
Organisation of effective kick off reviews, including how to assure that a common view is shared of and within the project.
Use of time and cost scorecard to identify execution versus management issues during project execution.
Control of project execution with allocated resources.
Direction of projects, including how to assure project compliance.
Organisation and operation of configuration management during and after project.
Organise a project portfolio and related quality system.
Perform both qualitative and quantitative analysis and management.
Development of research protocols.
Application of statistical methods for research.
Key Skills
Communication
Application of Number
Information Literacy and Technology Improving own learning and performance Working with others
Problem solving
- Critical thinking and creativity: identification and diagnosis of project success requirements and construction of related adequate project management.
- Problem solving and decision making: establishing criteria for successful projects and project management.
- Information and knowledge: definition and construction of effective and efficient project scorecards.
- Numeracy and quantitative skills: identification and characterization of success metrics for each project, and assurance these characterization will be met.
- Effective use of Communication and Information Technology (CIT): practical approach of project scheduling software tools (both freeware tools or commercial ones).
- Two-way communication: consideration of key stakeholders in projects and identification of adequate communication protocols before, during and after projects.
- Personal effectiveness: for each student, development of own specialization (for example, either definition scope management, or plan development, or any of the addressed module) for an application field (oil & gas, aerospace, nuclear, etc).
- Effective performance within a team environment and the ability to recognise and utilise individuals' contributions in-group processes: part of the application work is to be performed in teams.
- Leadership and performance management: design and improvement of decision making processes to control or direct projects.
- Ethics and value management: academic environment is mainly aimed at developing ethical and organisational values to project situations.
- Ability to conduct research into business and management issues.
- Learning through reflection on practice and experience.
Transferable Professional Skills
Students will be able to apply specific skills relevant to current practice in the area of project engineering and continue to develop these skills with an appreciation to technological responsibility.
The developed body of knowledge gained from this programme will facilitate a systematic, scientific and reflective approach to management enabling graduating students to be adaptive, strategic thinkers able to evaluate critically and respond to complex business issues, and apply high-level skills and knowledge from theoretical to business contexts.
The overall outcome from a student engaging with the programme of study will be a manager who is able to add value to the marketplace by meeting the expectations of employers, via the application of acquired transferable, integrated skills.
For pre-application to the Master of Science in Projects Engineering (MScPE), just fill in this application form and return it to admissions@ix-academics.education
All applicants must normally possess an honours degree of 2.2 or equivalent.
In exceptional cases substantial experience in the field of Project Engineering, or a closely related discipline (e.g. Project Management, Risk Management, Lean Methodology).
Eligibility will be determined by means of an interview with the Programme Leader.
Applicants for whom English is not a native language must also demonstrate proficiency in the English language. Such applicants must have minimum score of 6.5 on IELTS.