For students looking to gain intensive practical experience in the world of project management, THE Project – an advanced team-based project management competition – is currently recruiting teams for the fall of 2025. Hosted through the Project Management Institute (PMI), Michigan Tech’s College of Business is looking to sponsor two teams of four to six individuals who have completed prerequisite management coursework (OSM3200, OSM4300, or ENG4300). This semester-long practicum provides students with excellent experience in professional project plan development based on the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) in an intense, internship-like environment. Additionally, participants will receive mentoring from certified Project Management Professionals, prepare for obtaining their Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM), and may count the experience in place of senior design, capstone, or Enterprise in their curriculum, depending on their major.
Roger Woods, Operations and Engineering Management Professor in MTU’s College of Business and a longstanding advisor for THE Project, commented on the opportunities presented to participants. “This is a team-based project plan creation project,” explained Woods. “It’s a hard class you’ll really love!” The teams are each given scenarios to tackle, and with “guide-on-the-side” advisorship from Woods and the expertise of certified management professionals, the teams create comprehensive project plans to ensure the task’s success. Teams form over the fall semester and will hit the ground running in the spring of 2026 for the main competition. THE Project entails four “gates” of unique deliverables, to be cumulatively judged for each team’s final placement. Winning teams will receive cash prizes up to $5,000, while each participating member is sponsored with PMI student memberships and PMBOK guides through the program. “This is the opportunity to do an actual project in a real-world scenario without the threat of being fired,” Woods joked.
This upcoming year, the Michigan Tech College of Business is looking to expand its influence in PMI through THE Project. Typically hosted by the Western Michigan Chapter of the PMI, MTU may soon host its own chapter to organize the competition for over 40 universities from the U.P, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and down to northern Illinois. “We’ve been doing it for years!” Woods said. “We’re the only school that has placed in the top three every year that they’ve run the competition.”
Students interested in upholding Tech’s competitive spirit as MTU transitions into this new chapter of THE Project should contact Roger Woods through email at rhwoods@mtu.edu.
