Multidisciplinary Collaboration in Project Management Education: Practical Approach

Abstract

This paper presents insights into the importance of practical experience in project management success and discusses how well university education prepares future project managers in terms of practical project learning approaches. The paper provides an example of a multidisciplinary collaboration experience between courses, applied at Qatar University. With the forthcoming practice of an outcome-based accreditation assessment by the Qatar University Department of Architecture, student performance on this project can become a considerable index of learning outcomes. The multidisciplinary research was linked to an active competition of students’ projects promoted by the Qatar Road Safety Study Center (QRSSC) and was conducted in coordination with Qatari National Road Safety Strategy and many governmental institutions. The research method is based on the work-based learning (WBL) approach and is proposed for carrying out future studies, analyzing the benefits of interaction between project management education (theory) and the construction industry (practice). The initial results of students’ assessment suggest that multidisciplinary collaboration can provide a unique learning experience to develop the students’ managerial skills by integrating learning outcomes and performances.