Enhancing Project Management Education through Mentorship

Abstract

Project Management profession is relatively new in many developing countries including Nigeria. There is often a misconception of the duties of a project manager vis-a- vis other older and more traditional professions in the built environment and engineering field. There also exists significant gap between the offerings of current curriculum in use for project management in the educational institutions and the skill set required by industry. This research therefore evaluates the impact of mentorship on training in the project management discipline. A mixed research methodology was used to determine those key criteria that enable or inhibit student performance for proper placement and integration into the labour market. The study evaluated student’s adaptation to critical thinking skills and soft skills which are both essential for dealing with project complexities. The study used students’ academic performance as measure for their levels of comprehension, assimilation of project management tools and techniques. Result achieved can be used to reduce attrition level and increase satisfaction among student and other key stakeholders.