The Western Michigan Chapter of the Project Management Institute Announces the Kick-Off of their 4th Annual "THE Project" Competition

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Dec. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Western Michigan Chapter of the Project Management Institute (WMPMI) announced today the launch of the 4^th annual collegiate competition, "THE Project." Each year, the competition invites student teams comprised of 3 to 6 students from colleges and universities in Western Michigan and the Upper Peninsula to provide solutions for a real-life scenario in the form of a project plan. This year, students from seven Michigan universities will be challenged to design and create an implementation plan to promote a community garden or farm on a location in Michigan that spans a five-year period of time.

THE Project engages college students in the practice of project management, develops their leadership skills, and provides them with a showcase to demonstrate their leadership abilities on stage and in person with business and community leaders from West Michigan. Although project management tends to favor business, computer science, and engineering curriculums, students of all academic disciplines are highly encouraged to participate.

"THE Project offers students a hands-on experience working as a team in project management," said Ted Kallman, President of The Western Michigan Chapter of the Project Management Institute. "We are particularly excited with this year's assignment, which will not only benefit the student's professional development, but may also get them to begin thinking of ways to impact their local communities."

This year, teams will be participating from Cornerstone University, Davenport University, Ferris State University, Finlandia University, Grand Valley State University, Hillsdale College, and Michigan Technological University. Each team is provided a detailed scenario and assigned a certified mentor to teach them how to transform their solutions into project plans.

To determine a winner, the teams are judged on their use of proper project management techniques, the quality of their solutions, and their ability to present their project plans at the main event which is set to take place on April 10, 2017. The main event includes team presentations, keynote speakers, and a reverse career fair where business professionals who are seeking employees and/or interns can interview students. The top four teams in the competition will receive cash prizes, and in addition WMPMI will contribute $2,500 in funding to the winning team's project as seed money to jump start the actual construction of the space.

THE Project competition is made possible through the generosity corporate sponsors including: Spectrum Health as the lead sponsor, Initech Global, Lambert, Edwards & Associates, StellaFly, IPEX, TEK Systems, Experis, CDH, and Stryker to name a few. In addition, WMPMI is actively seeking sponsors for the 2017 calendar year.

About Western Michigan Chapter of the Project Management Institute
The Western Michigan Chapter of the Project Management Institute works to promote the activities of the Project Management Institution Association, which is dedicated to advancing the state-of-the-art effective and appropriate application of the practice and science of project management. The West Michigan Chapter is one of over 200 chapters geographically dispersed over 67 countries. For more information, head to http://wmpmi.org/

SOURCE Western Michigan Chapter of the Project Management Institute

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http://wmpmi.org