Project Management
Completed
Academic Lead
Steffi TEDJO
Adjunct, LKCSB
Industry
Krystina Lim
A versatile, results-driven professional with over 20 years of experience building relationships across clients, peers, and leadership to deliver sustained business solutions.
Sudipto Ghatak
Responsible for approving and managing credit risk across all products and sectors in Wealth Management & Investment Banking in APAC.
Hegen Yuen
A hospitality and CRE workplace professional focused on accelerating transformation through operational excellence, innovation, and people development.
Why this Collaboration
Classroom theory on project management only goes so far — students needed to hear how it actually plays out across different industries, and to test their own thinking against people doing the work. This course brings in podcast-style interviews with practitioners across real estate, hospitality, transportation, technology, and finance, so students see the same concepts applied in very different settings, then apply what they've heard themselves.
Industry Involvement
Professionally produced podcast interviews with project management practitioners from Standard Chartered, Credit Suisse, JLL etc. each speaking to how project management works in their own sector. Because the interviews are filmed, students get more cross-industry exposure than a single guest speaker could offer, at a fraction of the usual coordination effort.
Student Learning Experience
This is a blended learning experience built for undergraduate students.
Pre-class — Students watch the podcast interviews and participate in an online discussion forum with their peers and industry experts, moderated by faculty.
In-class — Select discussion threads are brought up in class, integrating the industry expert's responses, closing the loop between content and conversation.
Throughout the term— Students apply what they've learnt by drafting a client brief or project proposal.
In Their Own Words
Student
“It helped to bridge the gap between in-class discussion and real-life scenarios, and provided greater clarity on the role of project management in real life."
- Undergraduate student, 2026
“[That] she invites guest speakers on a podcast was really helpful and contributed to the bulk of my learning this semester for project management. It isn’t every day you get to hear insights and thoughts from professionals who are really experienced in PM."
- Undergraduate student, 2026
Faculty
“Bringing in a variety of industry partners including transport engineering, finance, tech, consulting, and facilities operations management not only allowed students to experience the breadth of how project management can be applied across industry but also broadened their perspective on potential industries they could go on to build careers in. Being able to tap into the experience of industry experts have enabled a jumping off point for discussions and questions in our weekly discussion forums and also made a strong impression in the student reflections!”
- Steffi Tedjo
Partner(s)
"The sharing of real-life corporate experience gives more in-depth context and previews into issues/challenges that students may face in future, to be better prepared beyond theoretical concepts."
– Krystina Lim, Change Management Leader
Get involved with i.Connect
Whether you teach at SMU or work in industry, tell us what you have in mind. CTE will explore what could fit and follow up with you.