Students Staff

Workshops and training

The Strategic Projects Office have organised a number of training and workshop events relating to project management, Lean, and change and benefit management, details of which can be found below.

If you have any urgent training needs please contact the Strategic Projects Office.

  • An Introduction to Project Management

    Across Essex an increasing number of people are involved in either contributing to, or managing the delivery of, a range of large and small projects. This course, which was delivered for the first time in January 2018, covers the following areas:

    • principles of project management
    • identifying a project and developing a project plan
    • defining a project
    • project planning
    • stakeholder analysis
    • risk and issue management
    • change management, including people change
    • project roles and responsbilities
    • project closure
    • lessons learned and benefits realisation

    The Introduction to Project Management sessions can be booked through the HR organiser.  In the meantime, please take a look through our Project One Stop Shop (.pdf, Essex users only) document which includes toolkits and advice on most areas of project management.

  • Sponsor Training

    Training for sponsors has been developed in conjunction with SUMS for staff or are currently, or may be required to be, a sponsor on a strategic University project. This training was delivered for the first time in December 2017 and will be repeated again in February 2018, then as required.

    If you would like to know more please contact the Strategic Projects Office.

  • Process Mapping

    This course will cover the approach to process mapping, and the standard tools and formats that should be used.

    This course will be available from March 2018 onwards. Further details will be available shortly.

  • Continuous Improvement (CI) Facilitation Training

    This workshop will provide participants with a good understanding of Lean, Continuous Improvement and Process Reviews, combining hands on exercises with case studies. Participants will learn how process reviews have been implemented and supported at Essex, how they can apply the tools and techniques to day to day work in their area and equip them with the skills and knowledge to facilitate a process review. This course is suitable for staff of all levels.

    The course will help you to:

    • understand how process reviews have been applied at the University, how potential review projects are identified and supported
    • understand the key concepts of the Lean approach and how they can be applied to a University
    • gain knowledge about how CI can be used and applied to a review and improve everyday work and workplace organisation
    • gain experience of applying CI using a case study to illustrate the concepts
    • gain practical knowledge, skills and tips about how to setup and facilitate a process review workshop
    • gain knowledge and understanding about how to create a process map and how to use this to identify potential areas for process improvement

    You can book on to the CI Facilitation training course through the HR Organiser.

  • Introduction to Continuous Improvement and CI Tools

    This workshop will provide an overview of continuous improvement and will equip you to embed CI tools and principles in your everyday work. This session will give you the tools to simplify the process you already do by removing waste and gaining a clearer understanding of the value of processes, both for you and your customer whether they are staff or students. Tools covered include:

    • Visual Display Boards
    • RACI
    • Skills Matrix
    • BOSCARD
    • Root Cause Analysis
    • Spaghetti Map
    • After Action Review

    You can book on to the Introduction to CI and tools training course through the HR Organiser.

Project one stop shop

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The one stop shop (.pdf, Essex users only) is a guide for Project Managers. It outlines the work required at the different stages of a project, together with toolkits, templates and guides for each piece of work.

PM Network

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The Project Managers' Network regularly meet to share experience and best practice. The network is made up of staff who are interested in or responsible for change and project management.

Lean

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Lean is a methodology used to make improvements to processes and day to day work. Using Lean can help you to identify the work you do that adds value, and remove any wasteful activities.

SUMS

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SUMS provide expert consultancy in all areas of University support and management. They can provide support on area reviews, legal compliancy and comparative analysis from other institutions.