Project Management Students and Graduates celebrated at APM’s Festival of Education and Research Awards
Association for Project Management (APM), the chartered membership organisation for the project profession, has announced the award winners for its Festival of Education and Research –an educational conference and celebratory awards ceremony that showcases the latest research, trends and skills shaping project management.
The awards ceremony recognises excellence across a range of education and research-related categories, including Graduate of the Year, Student of the Year and Educator of the Year, and other project-related award categories.
Meghna Praveen Kumar Gayathri, aged 24 a student at Coventry University was named Student of the Year, an award open to all full-time or part-time students aged 16 or over who have been part of a project within the past three years., allowing them to showcase their project skills and achievements.
Meghna was project manager as part of a team at university working on the development of a game called CUSU Go Game, aimed at international students coming to the UK. The interactive game had the objective to enable easy university induction and onboarding to international students in a fun and engaging way, keeping them informed and to become familiarised with the university buildings and locations.
The award judges were impressed by Meghna’s understanding of project management principles, articulating a clear understanding of stakeholder engagement, the methodologies used and how she overcame challenges to deliver a successful outcome for her project.
On receiving the award Meghna said: “I was surprised but extremely honoured to have won. This is such a prestigious award and I am delighted that all my hard work has paid off! With a motivated project team and good leadership kills you can make anything work!
“Thanks so much to APM and the APM Midlands branch for giving me the opportunity to win this fantastic award.”
Raheema Majid, aged 22, a project management graduate from the University of Salford won Graduate of the Year, an award which recognises excellence in achievement for someone who has completed a degree in project management.
Raheema a graduate project management consultant at BTTC Infrastructure – a pioneering infrastructure project consultancy based in Manchester. The judges were impressed by Raheema’s achievements in her studies and project management career to date. Raheema joined BTTC as a trainee project manager in 2020 whilst completing her Batchelor’s degree in Construction Project Management at the University of Salford. In 2022, Raheema graduated from university with a first class honours degree, achieving the highest grade in her class and was awarded the Certificate of Excellence from the Chartered Institute of Building, all of this despite her degree being significantly impacted by COVID-19 restrictions.
Whilst studying for her degree, Raheema also supported BTTC in an outreach programme with universities and schools across Manchester and the UK to promote project management to university and school students.
On receiving her award, Raheema said: “I am delighted to receive this award and grateful to APM for recognising my achievements so far. I have always wanted to work in the built environment, and I would like to thank BTTC for their support in helping me grow in my career. I am really excited about what the future may bring!”
Awards were also presented in further project management categories including:
- Educator of the Year –Dr Mohamed Abadi, Director of the Management of Projects (MoP) MSc programme in the Department of Engineering Management at the University of Manchester
- Post Graduate Dissertation of the Year – Maresca Demanuele, University of Sussex – Delving into the Front End: Exploring Innovation and Sustainability in Renewable Energy Projects
- Doctorate of the Year – Muhammad Ayat, Hanyang University, South Korea – Machine Learning-based Project Management Framework for Private Participation in Infrastructure Projects
- Research Paper of the Year – Amos P Haniff and Laura Galloway, Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University – Modelling strategic alignment in project networks
- Developmental Programme of the Year – Project Management Degree Apprenticeship, Sellafield Ltd
- Apprentice of the Year – Oliver Atkinson, project management degree apprentice with BAE Systems
Each award category is individually judged by a panel of judges. For further details visit apm.org.uk/festival-of-education-research/
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