Michael Anthonisz: The best place to start is by looking at some of the people that we already have on the program, so that you can see the types of people that it's attracting. And then I'll talk more specifically about alternatives. One of the things that we're finding is that many of the applicants and students on the program are experienced project managers, working from all over the world.
We've got people from the Caribbean, the Middle East, North America, Europe all engaging in the program, and all engaged in project management, or largely all engaged in project management to some degree already. They find the course particularly appealing and attractive for a number of reasons, not least the fact that you get the certification at the end.
And a prime motivation is that they find their careers have stalled, and they can't progress their careers without a degree or qualification in project management. It can be useful for somebody in the construction field. Alternatively, it may be as useful for somebody in, let's say the events field or the hospitality field, or whichever field.
I think the important thing to bear in mind is that you get the knowledge and the skill sets, and the ability to apply to a specific industry or sector, throughout the course. So you can, to an extent, tailor the course outcomes to your own personal circumstances.
I think we could talk about the flexibility of the program, in terms of the ability to fit the program around your work family and life commitments. I think that's a big factor. I also think the factor that it's accredited by a UK university is a big draw and a big bonus for the program.
I mentioned earlier that I'd spent five years working in the Middle East. One of the things I found whilst I was out there is they get very particular about the qualifications that they will accept when they're granting visas for people to work there. And qualifications that are from a UK university are widely recognized as being the gold standard.
In addition, there is sometimes a reluctance for online qualifications to be recognized. However, as I said, this particular qualification, even though it's delivered online, is accredited by the London Southbank University, and there is no mention that it's delivered online.
So I think, as a benefit for people that are looking to take advantage of the opportunities that project management affords on a global level, that's a huge selling point and differentiator from a lot of other programs.
In terms of the sorts of students that engage with the program, let's take that first example that I was mentioning, in terms of project managers who were experienced, but were looking to get a certificate to develop their career. Now, these people won't necessarily have the time or the resources to stop working and go and study for a year, so take a year out of their work life, in order to go and get a qualification.
With our program, they are much more able to complete the program whilst they continue to work. Now that has benefits on a number of levels. One, they're not taking the time out. So it doesn't feel like they're wasting their time. They are also able to apply their learning to their work as they progress. So there's every chance that they could look to develop and get more opportunities in terms of promotions as they're progressing.
And they're also earning money whilst they're paying for their qualification. So that's a distinct advantage as well. So I think one of the ways of looking at the program is, if you were working and wanted to study. Another way might be that you've perhaps just finished your undergraduate degree.
I get on to the group work. Let me touch on something that. It is usually one of the first questions that comes when you talk about a course or a program or a module. How is it going to be assessed? And one of the things we're very conscious of is the fact that assessments, or a range of assessments, are best suited to a positive experience.
So I can say categorically that we don't have exams on the course. Most of the work is project work. For a project management qualification, you kind of expect that-- but working in teams, writing reports, developing videos or blog posts. So there's a range of outputs that you'll generate, and that will be working in conjunction with people that you'll come to very early on in the program, which are your own cohort, but also with other cohorts on the program at the same time.
And what I mean by that is the way the program works is, if you were to start in January, you would complete your first module from January to March. And that would be with a group of students all starting in the January intake. Once you completed that first module, you would then join the other cohorts enrolled on the program for the next module. And that could be, as I said, I mentioned earlier, the project in the global environment. Or it could be the leadership module, or the project management methodologies, or sustainability in projects.
But you will join a wider group of people. So you'll have that chance to network not only with your own cohort, but with all of the other cohorts engaged on the program.
And as I've mentioned earlier, these people are professionals from a wide range of industries and sectors and a wide range of levels of experience in project management, from all over the world. So I think there's opportunities from that perspective to engage on a global level and to look at opportunities for, I suppose, career progression and networking.
