PMI India Champions ProgramAnnual Offsite MeetingPMI India Champions met for an annual offsite on 13-15 December in Panjim, Goa.The event saw an overwhelming participation of 18 PMI India Champions and six Champions Advisory Committee (CAC) members, apart from PMI India staff who are supporting the program. The participants attended the event with great excitement and enthusiasm as this was the first all-India level gathering for many Champions. It began with CAC members, along with PMI India staff, providing an overview of the program and discussing its current challenges, growth, and a new program model. To guide the growing team of Champions, two new CAC members were introduced to the program - Ms. Sonali Barooah and Ms. Susweta Mukherjee. Erstwhile senior Champions, Mr. B. Sai Prasad and Mr. Visukumar Gopal, were elevated to the role of associate CAC members. Mr. Chetan Mathur, Mr. Vinay Agarwal, Mr. Abhishek Mittal, Mr. Kumar Saurabh, and Mr. Prasann Patil were elevated to the role of senior Champions. This is in recognition of their continued and consistent contribution to the program and their ability to perform strategic roles. The second day began with the ‘Champion Speak’ session, in which Mr. Chetan Mathur, Mr. Sri Ram Santhana Gopal, Mr. Manoj Thomas, Mr. Abdul Rahiman, Mr. Raju Nandana, Mr. Prasann Patil, Mr. Deepak Singh Chauhan, and Mr. Sunil Telkar shared their achievements as PMI India Champions in 2013. They spoke about the various challenges they had faced and how they overcame them. This session was followed by a presentation on the Mumbai High North process platform and living quarter project that had won Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Limited the PMI India Best Project of the Year award in the large category in 2013. The presentation was made by the L&T project leadership team of Mr. Rudra Kumar, Mr. Roopchand Lohana, and Mr. Sandeep Badhe. The Mumbai High North project has set new benchmarks in the construction industry with the successful implementation of engineering, procurement, erection, and commissioning of the process platform for Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited before deadline and without any cost overruns. Mr. Douglas B. Reeves, educator, author, and founder of The Leadership and Learning Center, once said, “Collaboration, it turns out, is not a gift from the gods but a skill that requires effort and practice.” And team building exercises play a vital role in enhancing the collaborative approach within team. “The Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine”, conducted on the second day of the offsite, is one such game that not only provided the Champions and CAC members with phenomenal experiential learning but also acted as an ice-breaker for those who were meeting each other face-to-face for the first time. The day ended with a ceremony in which Champions and CAC members were felicitated for their contributions to the PMI India Champion program. The following members received awards: - Best Performer of the Year: Mr. Prasann Patil - Best Mentor of the Year: Mr. Visukumar Gopal - Execution Excellence Award (CAC): Mr. Ashok Chawla and Mr. Partha Ghose - Execution Excellence Award (Champions): Mr. Vinay Kumar Agarwal, Mr. Chetan Mathur, and Mr. B. Sai Prasad - Champions of the Quarter (Q1 - Jan to Mar 2013): Mr. Venkatasubramanian Sivakumar, Mr. Kumar Saurabh, and Mr. Vinay Kumar Agarwal - Champions of the Quarter (Q2 - Apr to Jun 2013): Mr. Prasann Patil, Mr. Sunil Telkar, and Mr. Krishna Samy V. - Champions of the Quarter (Q3 - Jul to Sep 2013): Mr. Prasann Patil, Mr. Sundeep Jain, and Mr. Sri Ram Santhana Gopal - Champions of the Quarter (Q4 - Oct to Dec 2013): Mr. Kiran Rajeshirke, Mr. Roopesh K. P., and Mr. Raju NandanaSnapshots of the Agile Project Management Approach Session at Syntel, Mumbai The third and last day of the meet primarily focused on the way ahead and the new program model. Champion program chair, Ms. Shagufta Inamdar, and co-chair, Mr. Vivek Sonar, elaborated on the changing needs of the program and rolled out the new program structure. Three new standing committees were formed in addition to the existing four to streamline activities as per the new program structure. This offsite meeting provided Champions and CAC members a much needed break and the newly inducted Champions with the necessary direction to channel their efforts on project management advocacy. The PMI India Champions program, driven by passionate project management professionals from across the industry, has been steadily focused on the promotion of best project management practices through various advocacy efforts. One of the key goals is to grow the number of Champions to over 100 across India. If you have the passion to champion the cause of project management, visit http://www.pmi.org.in/champion-program/ for further details. Agile Project Management Approach Session at Syntel, Mumbai Syntel and PMI India collaborated for a knowledge sharing session in agile project management approach on 18 December at Syntel’s Airoli facility in Mumbai. The event was organized by Syntel Project Management Community (SynPMCom) volunteers with the help of Syntel administration and technology services group. The event started with a welcome address by PMI India Champion, Mr. Visukumar Gopal, practice manager – CEO’s Office, Syntel. He spoke about Syntel’s journey in project management and its association with PMI. The guest speaker of the event, Mr. Rahul Sudame, PMP, PMI-ACP, CSM, CSP, director of engineering and agile practice head, Faichi Solutions, shared his knowledge and experience on agile project management. It was an interactive session that ended with a quiz whose winners were awarded by SynPMCom volunteers. The event ended with high tea that turned out to be a wonderful opportunity for peers and seniors in the organization to network. Project Management Session at Sathyabama University PMI India Champions, Mr. Visukumar Gopal and Mr. Roopesh K. P., presented a session on project management at Sathyabama University in Chennai on 30 January 2014. The session was attended by over 300 students from the computer science department. Mr. Gopal spoke about project management as a life skill, the various aspects of project management, and the value of project management as a profession in the industry. (Contributed by PMI India Champions Mr. Sunil Telkar, PMP, MIMA, Mr. Raphael David, PMP, Mr. Vinay Kumar Agarwal, PMP, and Mr. Kumar Saurabh, PMP)
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