Consulting with Consultants
MPM students collaborated with Project Management Advisors to get a behind-the-scenes look at life as project managers in the built environment sector.
Project Management Advisors, Inc (PMA) is a national real estate advisory firm that offers owner’s representation and development management across the built environment project lifecycle.
In 2024, PMA’s advisory took on a new form as members of the firm collaborated with Northwestern Engineering's Master of Science in Project Management (MPM) program for a reimagined capstone experience.
The goal of the two-quarter capstone course was to help students understand the role communication, ethics, project management, research, and teamwork play within the built environment. To do that, students received briefings from previous projects that featured a lead PMA project manager.
Each MPM team acted as consultants for PMA. The groups took the provided briefings, defined specific problems to tackle, researched potential solutions, and ultimately created a recommendation and poster presentation about how to navigate the challenge.
The goal was to help students understand how to apply lessons they’ve learned throughout the MPM curriculum to a real-world project.
"The students were inquisitive and initially approached tasks with an academic and often linear perspective," said Bill Cooney, a PMA project manager who worked with one student. "I was able to have some really good conversations and show them how to approach and problem solve differently than a normal engineering problem scenario."
Chris Brooks, a senior project manager at PMA who has a background and degree in architecture, was excited to work with the MPM students. Based on his experience, he said there's no way to truly understand what it's like to work in the built environment without experiencing it for yourself.
"No experience in school accurately replicates the working world," Brooks said. "The schools that are best preparing students are the ones (like MPM) that are exposing them to scenarios regularly encountered by professionals."
During the inaugural run of the capstone course delivered in partnership with PMA in 2024, students met with PMA representatives to discuss progress and feedback. Two PMA leaders also led standalone sessions so the students could ask questions and refine their research direction.
Some of the lessons focused on gaining a better understanding of the role a project manager plays within the built environment sector.
"Project management centers around communication among and coordination of people toward a solution rather than being required to have the knowledge toward the actual solution," Brooks said. "As a leader in a group, it isn’t necessary to have the answers, but it is important to know the functions of the various players, what is needed from each of them, and also ensuring each of the players understands how their contribution and timing weaves into the ultimate outcome."
Cooney agreed.
"In project management, the work is communication and the solution is the natural destination that occurs," he said. "More often than not, taking action and communicating the situations, the scenarios, and the factors is way more beneficial than waiting for the perfect answer."
By collaborating with PMA, students not only learned tips to be better project managers, but they also developed professional fundamentals related to teamwork and collaboration.
"We are deeply grateful to PMA for this ongoing partnership," said Paul Beilstein, who co-teaches the capstone course. "Students were able to benefit from the deep knowledge of experienced project managers. Their contributions are helping us build a truly valuable capstone experience for our students."
