PMIWDC

The 2010 biennial PMI Research & Education Conference was held in Washington, DC at the Gaylord National Hotel & Conference Center on July 11 through July 14. The conference is an international event that spotlights new and ongoing project management research and innovative teaching practices by students, instructors, researchers , and all project management practitioners.

The program, for the first time, joined the areas of academic research and teaching in one meeting. The conference provided forums, plenary speakers, panel discussions, peer-reviewed papers, student poster sessions, and symposia. Various Project Management areas such as Project Management Office, Soft Skills, Publications, Human Resources, Portfolio Management, Stakeholder Theory, Earned Value Management, and Project/Program Success were grouped and presented in a day-long series of presentation channels.

The Project Management Institute, Washington, DC Chapter (PMIWDC) played a significant role in the conference by providing thirteen members from the chapter as volunteers to support the PMI staff during the daily sessions with as-needed help. Chris Fristad, PMIWDC Director At-Large, and Bob Etris, PMIWDC VP of Volunteering, worked closely with PMI and the PMI Southern Maryland Chapter to gather volunteers and integrate our members into the event planning team. The leadership, planning, and coordination from PMIWDC membership greatly contributed to the overall success of this conference and provided PMI with the support staffing that it needed to manage the variety of activities planned during the event.

For those interested in participating in a similar volunteering experience, PMIWDC will be supporting this fall’s LIM and Global Congress events in early October. Details about the volunteering needs, event timeframes, and contact information can be found on the Chapter’s Volunteer Portal at www.pmiwdc.org, menu item Volunteer!.