Balmoral Rewards Aberdeen Business School Students
19 December 2008
19 December 2008
Three postgraduate students at The Robert Gordon University's (RGU) Aberdeen Business School are the first to benefit from an annual £5000 sponsorship package, donated by North-east buoyancy specialist, Balmoral Offshore Engineering.
The Aberdeen-based company has forged a sponsorship agreement with ABS on its MSc Project Management programme and an annual prize fund of £5000 is shared among the three top students on the course.
In addition, the students will have the opportunity to gain invaluable industry experience during a six-week placement at Balmoral, potentially resulting in an offer of full-time employment.
Winner of the inaugural award was Melanie Thom with her paper “An investigation into agile development and its relationship with project success”. She receives £2500.
Second-placed Saliha Ismail receives £1500 for the paper “Risk evaluation in project selection process in project portfolio management”.
And third, receiving £1000, was Epundu Ben Onochie for the paper “Assessing the project management maturity of the Nigeria oil and gas indigenous companies”.
Jim Milne, chairman and MD at Balmoral, said: “We are delighted to partner Aberdeen Business School in this prestigious prize. Balmoral is committed to the local and academic communities and I am encouraged that the relationship between the two organisations has been reinforced by this initiative.
“We all know how competitive today's business environment is. Every employer looks for someone who has something extra; a sparkle that makes them stand out from the crowd. I believe our three winning students characterise a new breed of professional managers.”
Aberdeen Business School Dean, Rita Marcella, said: “This award is of enormous benefit to the students and our agreement with a company as successful as Balmoral Group speaks volumes about the way in which Aberdeen Business School is perceived by industry. Our close links with industry are what we are all about, producing the type of graduates that business wants and business needs.”
Course leader on the MSc Project Management, Senga Briggs, added: “The generous financial award, coupled with the opportunity of first-hand work experience with such a well-established and thriving company will provide students with an excellent start to their project management careers."
Launched in September 2006 by Aberdeen Business School, the MSc in Project Management is a management development programme suitable for new graduates and experienced project managers wishing to develop their professional practice and gain a qualification in their specialist area. The programme has also been approved for full accreditation by the Association for Project Management and RGU has become a Registered Educational Provider for the discipline's leading international professional body, the Project Management Institute (PMI).
For further information on the course, and how to apply, contact Senga Briggs on Tel: +44(0)1224 263832 or e mail s.briggs@rgu.ac.uk. Further information on Balmoral Offshore Engineering can be found at http://www.balmoraloffshore.com/.
