UCD Smurfit Graduate School of BusinessAfter completing a 2 year part-time International Executive MBA here in 2004, I transitioned into a portfolio career of teaching, consulting and non-profit work to allow me to better balance life in general.
In 2006 I co-created, along with my mentor Ken Meates, the Master's in Project Management programme, and in 2008 took on Directorship of this programme, offered in both full and part-time modes. Since then I have lectured on this and many other Smurfit Masters programmes and to other postgrad programmes including the open PhD.
I also completed a Postgrad Professional Diploma in University Teaching and Learning here in 2016, which continues to inform my teaching practice both in Smurfit and elsewhere.
The video below is a 45-minute talk I gave at UCD in a joint CPD event held in March 2019 between Smurfit, the Institute of Management Advisers and Consultants and the Project Management Institute.
The Project FoundryAs well as teaching at Smurfit, I keep my professional practice current by consulting and coaching in business. As Head of Learning & Development for The Project Foundry, I regularly work with commercial clients, typically helping develop internal project and programme management capabilities in organizations and their staff, by delivering formal training and also conducting mentoring and executive coaching.
Recent clients I've worked with through TPF include AerCap, Dixons Carphone Warehouse, Cornmarket, Bord na Mona and Cubic Telecom.
2 into 3I've always tried to spend a proportion of my time working in the non-profit sector, both in volunteer and also paid roles. Non-profits are a different yet hugely valuable aspect of our society, often under-resourced, but contributing incredible benefit to so many people who would otherwise often be left behind or slip through the cracks of the commercial or governmental structures in place. 2 into 3 do great work building organizational capacity in many Irish non-profits, so I'm proud to be an Associate with them offering Risk Management consulting and development to their clients.
SFA SkillnetAs a trainer on the panel for the Small Firms Association Skillnet, I get to work with small businesses on up-skilling their staff and managers in project management tools and techniques, as well as follow-up consultancy. Project management skills are fundamental to success - every business of whatever type enacts change through projects, and even basic training can reap huge efficiency benefits.