STAR VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT
PMI South Asia

Manage South Asia talks to two volunteers who have been hosting the Common Ground webinars to learn about their experience behind the scenes

Senior Manager, International Game Technology
Director, PMI Pearl City Hyderabad Chapter

How was the experience of hosting the Common Ground webinars?

Back in April 2020, when work from home and social distancing had become a way of life, many people, including me, were confined in a bubble looking for ways to connect with like-minded people. So when I was asked to be part of the Common Ground team, I jumped at it because this program started with the same objective.

This was a whole new experience with weekly webinars for a global audience of 800-1000 people in each session. So, to deliver a good experience consistently, we created our own way of working to cover all aspects - pre-session planning and logistics, roles and responsibilities, speakers and topics, back-ups, and post session sync ups on lessons learned.

The high audience engagement level keeps us going, and the regular feedback helps adapt to expectations and deliver accordingly.

What are some of your key learnings from this experience?


My experience at Common Ground just reinstated the belief that when you do something you enjoy, it doesn’t feel like work at all.

It was even better with the fantastic camaraderie that we had as a team - with trust, open-minded, and two-way communication. This was possible because the core team consisted of like-minded people, who are passionate about the same vision, which is to give a great experience to the Common Ground audience.

Truly, great teams deliver great results - especially when there is a high level of trust.


Cloud Advisory Leader, Astra Zeneca
PMI India Volunteer

How was the experience of hosting the Common Ground webinars?

Being a host of the Common Ground series has been a unique experience in many ways. The entire event coordination is being done remotely and digitally, putting into practice a new way of working that would go on to be the new normal. The interesting thing for me was the level of audience engagement and passion. I have received many messages directly after every episode, some congratulatory and many critical. I was very surprised when I received messages from people who felt bad that their question was not picked by us for the Q&A session. This just showed how keen the participants were, and how important it was for us as moderators to cater to all these needs.

What are some of your key learnings from this experience?

For me, two things have contributed to making this series enormously successful.

Key learnings – the importance of building a team that has a high degree of trust in one another. That allowed us to seamlessly cover for each other without any impact on the guests and participants.

Preparation - the level of preparation for each episode was high and very detailed. Dry runs with the guests, technology checks, preparing for technology failures, and getting backup speakers and topics ready. Most importantly, we were transparent with the audience and provided them with an excellent learning experience.
In this column, we shine the spotlight on our star volunteers from PMI South Asia chapters who have made immense contributions through their dedication and passion. This is your opportunity to know a little bit about these remarkable men and women from our practitioner community.

Jayaprakash Arjarapu, PMP

Senior principal software engineer, Oracle India Private Limited
Chapter volunteer, PMI Pearl City Chapter

Been a PMI member since: October 2017

What attracted me to PMI: The way PMI is working for the betterment of society

My dream project as a project manager: Being a part of the student leadership program

My proudest PMI volunteer moment: 25 percent increase in attendees for a network meeting in which we incorporated new communication strategies

A life lesson I learned as a volunteer: Meeting social activist Anna Hazare as a PMIPCC volunteer was a memorable experience. He said, “Believe in what you do, say what you practice, and have patience of a lifetime to see the change you expect.”

I am looking forward toto…
Being a valuable volunteer for society

Babita J., PMP

Vice president, Broadridge Financial Solutions
Chapter volunteer, PMI Pearl City Hyderabad Chapter

Been a PMI member since: 2006

What attracted me to PMI: To get certified in the area of project management

My dream project as a project manager: Every project has taught me something new. So every project has been a dream project

My proudest PMI volunteer moment: An opportunity to interact with the PMIPCC community and its budding leadership team

A life lesson I learned as a volunteer: The best gift to self is to never stop learning and always share your learnings with others

I am looking forward to… Continuing my stint as a volunteer and my PMP journey

Dinesh Vetal, PMP

Project manager, Kirloskar Brothers Ltd, Pune
Manager, academic outreach, Pune Deccan India Chapter

Been a PMI member since: 2015

What attracted me to PMI: PMI certifications, networking, local chapters, volunteering

My dream project as a project manager: Rural electrification projects of the Government of India, wherein residents of remote villages got access to electricity for the first time

My proudest PMI volunteer moment: Organizing the ‘Industry Intellect Series’ and launching a chapter podcast

A life lesson I learned as a volunteer: Never be afraid of working with unknowns

I am looking forward to… Giving back to society, working on various academic and PMIEF programs

Nibu Thomas, PMP

Associate director - information development, Whatfix
Assistant vice president, PMI Bangalore Chapter

Been a PMI member since: September 2010

What attracted me to PMI: Understanding the science of getting things done

My dream project as a project manager: A project that transforms our education system

My proudest PMI volunteer moment: Yet to happen

A life lesson I learned as a volunteer: Volunteering is the best opportunity to learn influencing without authority

I am looking forward to…My proudest volunteer moment

Vijay Soundararajan, PMP

Field application engineer, Keysight Technologies
Volunteer, PMI Bangalore Chapter

Been a PMI member since: 2016

What attracted me to PMI: I want to give back to the community

My dream project as a project manager: My dream project will be one in which I am part of it from the beginning to the end.

My proudest PMI volunteer moment: My current project of collating information on all social media channels and leading the team ahead to generate revenue for PMI Bangalore

A life lesson I learned as a volunteer: There is always something to learn and it never stops

I am looking forward to… continuing to offer my voluntary services to PMI Bangalore

Vicky Panjwani, PMP

Manager, KPMG
Volunteer, PMI Mumbai Chapter

Been a PMI member since: 2015

What attracted me to PMI: Passion toward excelling in project management and the professional and selfless attitude of PMI volunteers

My dream project as a project manager: A project that leverages technology to transform life at the grassroots

My proudest PMI volunteer moment: PMI Mumbai Chapter winning the Chapter of the Year award in 2017

A life lesson I learned as a volunteer: The good you do for the community multiplies and comes back to you in unexpected ways

I am looking forward to…The transformed PMI

Akhila Gowri Shankar, PMP

Freelance Management Consultant
Vice president, finance, PMI Kerala Chapter

Been a PMI member since: 2009

What attracted me to PMI: Global standards for project management, professional networking opportunities, and giving back to society

My dream project as a project manager: Women empowerment through ICT in Kerala coastal areas done as part of a Government of India capacity building program

My proudest PMI volunteer moment: Being instrumental in articulating the 2019 activities of Kerala Chapter to secure the finalist position at PMI Global Chapter Awards

A life lesson I learned as a volunteer: The right mindset will help us manoeuvre the adversities in life

I am looking forward to…Further networking and knowledge sharing moments with my peers at PMI

Syed Ishteaque Ahmed

Business analyst, Strategy and Results Management Office,
Ministry of Government and Consumer Services, Ontario,Canada
Volunteer, PMI Bangladesh Chapter

Been a PMI member since: 2017

What attracted me to PMI: Networking opportunities with the project management community and capability learnings from industry experts

My dream project as a project manager: A multi-year project with a minimum budget of US$ 1 billion to enhance public service

My proudest PMI volunteer moment: Managing the chapter’s online, public information and representing as a lead of the business analysis portfolio of PMI Toronto Chapter

A life lesson I learned as a volunteer: Active listening and empathy are the first steps toward maturity

I am looking forward to…Serving the PMI community as long as I can