PMFORUM Breaking News

Reported by Theofanis Giotis in Athens

The first ever Government co-funded program to promote project management certification in Greece was launched on July 18, 2007 in Athens following its official approval by the Greek Ministries of Development and Education. The program will promote the IPMA 4-Level Certification Scheme adapted to the Greek / European Union requirements.

The partners of the program include the National Technical University of Athens (Department of Construction Engineering & Management), Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Department of Civil Engineering), Technological Educational Institute of Larissa (Department of Project Management), Loughborough University of Technology, U.K. (Department of Civil & Building Engineering), the Network of Project Managers in Greece (PM-Greece), Egnatia Odos S.A. (a major project management company in Greece), Ergose S.A. (also a major project management company in Greece), Edrasis – Ch. Psallidas S.A. (major contractor), Bovis-Lend-Lease (Greece), Hellenic Agency for Local Development & Local Government S.A. (a state owned company providing professional and technical support to local goverments in Greece) and the Development Agency of Karditsa S.A. (a state owned company providing advisory services for development projects in central Greece).

The program, known as “profPM” (acronym standing for “professional Project Management”) has a budget of over € 200,000 and a duration of 14 months. The most tangible output expected is the certification of the first project managers in Greece according to the IPMA scheme by mid-2008.

Additional information can be obtained from the program coordinator Dr. J.P. Pantouvakis (http://paris.pantouvakis.gr) and/or from the program website at http://cem.civil.ntua.gr/profpm (currently under construction).

(This article is based on information provided to PMForum by Professor Paris Pantouvakis, NTIU and PM-Greece.)

Theofanis C. Giotis International Correspondent Greece based in Athens Mr. Theofanis C. Giotis, MSc, MCT, PMP is an International Correspondent for PMForum.org in Greece. Mr. Giotis is also CEO of ITEC Total Solutions SA, an Information Technology Solutions company, and managing director for ITEC Training Services SA, an IT, Project Management and Management Training company. Mr. Giotis has an MS degree in Operations Research from the University of Lancaster (UK) and a BA in Economics from the University of Athens, Greece. Theofanis has 20 years’ experience in Management, Finance, IT, Security and PM. He is a co-founder & steering committee representative of the PMI® Greece Chapter and a member of the Greek Computer Society, Greek Operations Research Society, Hellenic Management Association, and several other Greek and international professional organizations. Additional information about Theofanis Giotis can be seen at http://www.pmforum.org/blogs/press/2007/01/pmforumorg-introduces-theofanis-giotis.html. Theofanis lives in Athens, Greece and can be contacted at Theofanis.Giotis@ITEC.edu or Theofanis.Giotis@PMI-GREECE.org.