Could you please describe yourself briefly?

My name is Nick Lambrou and I am the Course Leader of the Project Management MSc which started two years ago in 2012. I first came to the University of Westminster as a Postdoctoral in 1983 and I’ve stayed on ever since. In the mean-time I have run my own businesses exporting computers to my native Greece and importing Greek wines to Britain.
I studied Mathematics at the University of London and continued through to an MSc and Ph.D. in Numerical Analysis.

Which area of academic are you most passionate about?
Teaching is my passion and I have taught at all levels from HNDs to degrees and postgraduate courses. I started teaching IT at the School of Computing then moved onto Systems Analysis and finally into Project Management which I teach at Westminster Business School. In my time I have set-up courses in IS Design, E-Commerce and Business Computing all of which have enjoyed success in the past. Also I founded courses in Oman, India and Uzbekistan of which I’m proud.

Tell us more about the Project Management MSc – what will students learn and experience and what will they take away with them?
The team that set-up the MSc in Project Management wanted to create a self-contained programme that would appeal to both the academically and the professionally minded students. We’ve pooled together our experiences from various project management environments to create a course that covers all the project management bodies of knowledge, which we like to discuss and critique at every opportunity.
Moreover, we have put in place an assessment regime which emulates the problems faced by a Project Manager in real-world settings. As a consequence, there are a variety of assessments including group work, individual work, tests and examinations.

The teaching team are also training professionals and we are one of a handful of universities who teach PRINCE2® and the Agile Project Management™ (AgilePM®) certification. Both of which are considered project management best practice.

Upon arrival in the third week of the course we all go for a residential weekend where we get to know each other through exercises, lectures and games. We also run a conference every year on project management. This conference was a project idea of a student from our very first cohort.

What piece of advice would you give to prospective students?

To become a Project Manager you need to be inquisitive all the time. Even before you arrive you should have had a look at the profession’s websites like the American Project Management Institute, the British Association for Project Management or the IPMA which resides in Switzerland. Each one of these bodies publishes its own list of competences for a Project Manager.

When you arrive we will give you a copy of Project Management: The Managerial Process a book by Larson & Gray, which will become the standard text of the course. You will need to buy more books in order to get a better understanding of the subject. So if you wish you can buy any text on project management and read it before you arrive.

If you want a more relaxed introduction try One Project Too Many by Reiss, Leigh & Henderson. This book is written in the form of a novel and gives a good impression of what life is like for a Project Manager.
One thing we are very proud of is the diverse background of our students. This year’s cohort came from Costa Rica, Malaysia, Portugal, USA, Bhutan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Romania, Bulgaria, Italy, Vietnam, Nigeria, Ghana, Algeria, Iran and of course the UK.

• About
• Latest Posts

Westminster Business School Blog

Latest posts by Westminster Business School Blog (see all)

• Team Atlas Makes It To The Semi-Finals Of The Universities Business Challenge – The World’s Leading Event For Employability And Enterprise Skills - December 18, 2015
• #LoveFestive Photo Competition – What Does Festive Mean To You? - December 1, 2015
• Business Economics Course Attends Institute Of Fiscal Studies Conference - November 30, 2015