by: Petra Goltz

You should come to Kuala Lumpur (KL) next year.

Malaysia's government is unique in the way it promotes project management.

Not only in how it is implementing 'Wawasan 2020' but also in the way it sponsors the country's project managers to attain PMP (Project Management Professional) certification. 'Wawasan 2020' is its 'Vision 2020' which aims broadly to create a progressive scientific society and position Malaysia as a regional hub for leading innovative technology companies.

Since 2005, annual 'Mastering IT Project Management'(MITPM) Conferences are being held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital. At each MITPM Congress, newly qualified, local PMPs are honoured, and world-renowned presenters and keynote speakers talk about the latest project management practices, hard and soft skills, IT and Telecommunications technologies.

There is also a prize draw with prizes ranging from free attendance to forthcoming, relevant events in the region, free hotel stays in the 5-star Subang Sheraton, books about leadership skills and project management, and surprise prizes. The latter in 2006 included 'the world's largest chocolate bar', a Toblerone bar weighing 5 kg that was imported from Switzerland and donated by our SIG, and other delectables from around the world, to underline the global nature of this event.

The two-day congress, since 2005 held every year on 1 and 2 August, is preceded by a one-day seminar. This year the topic was 'Project Stakeholder Management Made Easy', a popular subject as demonstrated by the high attendance. This pre-conference seminar was conducted by Dr. Lynda Bourne, an eminent, award winning project manager, consultant and trainer, with more than 20 years industry experience.

To give you further insight into the nature of topics and speakers, the Conference was opened on 1 August by the CEO of MDEC (Multimedia Development Corporation), Dr. Ghazali, followed by a special address by Iain Fraser, Past Chair of PMI Inc., who talked about the 'Value of Project Management' in his inimitable and highly informative manner. After the teabreak, Mark Lurch, our SIG Chair, gave an enlightening and very well received keynote address on 'Leading World Class Technology Projects For Innovation', quoting many real life examples. Yours truly, Petra Goltz, also gave a very enlightening speech addressing lessons learned in identifying and Closing Runaway Projects utilizing some interesting real life and prominent examples.

On http://www.mitpm.org you will find detailed information on MITPM1 held in 2005, as well as MITPM2 from 2006, and this year's MITPM3, and you can view photographs that will give you a taste of the venue, speakers, and delegates.

You will benefit tremendously by attending MITPM4 next year, as the pre-conference seminar, conference and exhibition will give you unequalled opportunities to network with peers from the region and with industry experts from around the globe. The first delegate that registered for this year's conference came from Mauritius. And, of course, you will also learn about and be able to share the latest news and trends in IT and Telecommunications project, programme, and portfolio management. You can check out some of the photographs of the event here.

See you in KL in 2008! Back To Top