UMT Professors Give Project Management Lectures in China

ARLINGTON, VA, April 14, 2000 - UMT professors have recently completed a series of project management lectures in China.

Larry Joseph, Tom Block, Jody Uyanik, Bahram Bahramian, and Yanping Chen have lectured to student groups in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou since last October.

They gave lectures in project management, risk and quality management, time and cost control, the new project management, and management soft skills.

"Project management is really a new concept in China," Dr. Joseph said. "But, it's an essential field to master as the country moves from a centrally-planned economy to a market-based one."

Dr. Joseph lectured in Beijing, Shenzhen, and Shanghai. Shenzhen is a new economic zone where many of China's high tech companies are located.

"This was a hard working, extremely competent group of students," Dr. Joseph said. "They take a highly entrepreneurial approach to business and management."

Many of the issues that Chinese project managers are facing are similar to the ones faced by project managers in the United States.

"They solve the problems through different cultural, social and political settings," Dr. Joseph explained. "Working with these students helps to make me a better instructor as business becomes increasingly globalized."

The lectures were done as part of joint educational intiatives between UMT and Chinese universities and government organizations.

In August, Dr. Chen and J. Davidson Frame, UMT's Academic Dean, will accompany Thomas Tarnow, vice president of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, to China. They will give lectures on project management applications in the financial sector in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen.

"We're exploring various options for expanding our educational outreach to China," Dr. Chen said. "We believe there is great potential for future cooperation."