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Project Portfolio Management

Are you interested in using project portfolio management as a strategic tool? Examine your workplace’s current approach to projects, process models and tools.

In the specialist course Project Portfolio Management, you will learn how to approach the project landscape in your organisation in a professional manner. You will learn to ensure that projects are conceptualised in such a way that they can be coordinated effectively and successfully concluded. Boost your organisation (company, public administration, NPO) by selecting the right process model and appropriate tools for project implementation. Coordination and use of different project process models.

Are you a project manager/line manager who is looking to improve project efficiency and effectiveness? Then this specialist course is the perfect choice for you:

  • Remit and set-up of project portfolio management
  • Processes and organisation of project portfolio management
  • Agile forms of organisation and project management
  • Support tools available for project management and project portfolio management
  • Challenges encountered in your workplace (examination of your own case studies)

Factsheet

  • Degree/Certificate Specialist course Project Portfolio Management
  • Duration 5 days
  • Schedule Tuesday, Wednesday, every two weeks
  • Application deadline 6 weeks before start, later registration also possible if places are available
  • ECTS credits 3 ECTS-credits (depending on admission)
  • Costs CHF 2'125
  • Teaching language German
  • Location Bern, Schwarztorstrasse 48
  • School Business School
  • Next session Please visit the German website for more information

Contact

Downloads (in German)

For further information and registration, please visit the German website. 

Content + structure

Portrait

Project portfolio management helps you to cut through the mass of ideas and pick the right ones to turn into projects, strategically rank them and execute them in a coordinated fashion – making your organisation more project-oriented and aligning it more strongly to markets and trends. You recognise project portfolio management as a strategic necessity that will enable you to master the challenges of a VUCA world more effectively, from selecting the right process models to setting up IT support for planning, implementing and steering projects.

This part-time continuing education programme in project portfolio management will both motivate and challenge you. You will master the key methodologies and practices you need in order to refine project management within your organisation. You will exchange ideas with other students, expanding your skill set in the process. The programme centres on the critical examination of your current project portfolio management and the recognition and development of solutions for your own workplace.

Learning outcomes

In this continuing education programme, you will learn all the key aspects of handling projects and deploying appropriate procedures in your organisation (company, public administration, NPO). You will discover how your own organisation can be made more project-oriented and agile. You will acquire the following abilities:

  • Conceptualisation of problems and understanding of project portfolio management as a strategic and operative concept
  • Methodologies and practices of project initiation and project management, including an overview of supporting tools and apps
  • Understanding of Agile forms of organisation (e.g. SAFe)
  • Methodological knowledge of the criteria for selecting process models (Plan-driven, Agile, Hybrid) and insight into Agile variants (e.g. Scrum and Kanban).
  • Overview of the use of tools in project management and project portfolio management
  • Ability to analyse the problems and challenges encountered in projects in your own workplace

The specialist course is designed to help you develop your skills in relation to projects, the selection and use of process models and the corresponding IT tools. In specific terms, you will focus on the following topics:

  • Presentation of case studies, assignment to themed categories and integration into the teaching programme
  • Project portfolio management as a strategic task and the resultant interdependencies
  • The latest concepts in project portfolio management (evaluation, prioritisation, categorisation, etc.)
  • Criteria and selection of an appropriate process model for projects
  • Agile forms of organisation and project organisation
  • Personal understanding of project portfolio management
  • Discussion of ideas and challenges relating to portfolio management in your organisation
  • Development of approaches to improve project management and project portfolio management in your professional environment
  • Presentation and discussion of measures to be implemented (in relation to case study)

This specialist course is part of the CAS Advanced Project Management. The CAS comprises the following three courses:

Adults tend to have a different approach to learning. We therefore feel an obligation to ensure that continuing education at BFH Business follows the practices of modern adult education. Our ‘head, heart and hand’ approach is essential to the design of our programmes. The issues we focus on in our teaching are tailored to the professional and life experiences of the participants. There is a perfect balance of contact hours and self-study phases, and analogue learning environments are combined with digital tools. Microsoft Teams is available to you as a complementary tool: you will have access to documents, messages and information as well as a class chat function.

Practical challenges

In this part-time continuing education programme on project portfolio management, we assign importance to exchanging ideas within the group or the plenary session and putting what you have learned into practice. Examine your handling of projects and process models individually, in groups or in the plenary session. The task-based teaching is interspersed with short, introductory conceptual and methodological presentations.

We will focus on case studies and examine specific questions relating to your professional environment. Together with skilled and experienced lecturers, you will analyse problematic situations, develop options and solutions and evaluate their impact. The participants will present their action plans in the final class.

You will write a case report on the project portfolio management challenge of your choice.

Lecturers

Our lecturers are proven experts with extensive practical and theoretical knowledge in their subject areas. They have at least a university degree plus many years of experience in higher education. 

Hugo Schneider, business economist
Project portfolio manager, project management expert, head of PMO, project manager, trainer, consultant and coach in project management and project portfolio management

Marco Magnaguagno
Organisational developer, Lean & Agile expert, project manager

Admission + further study

The specialist course Project Portfolio Management is aimed at project managers and line managers who are interested in making the initiation, planning and execution of projects within their remit more efficient and effective.

Typical participants:

  • Members of an Agile organisational unit
  • Executive managers
  • Project team members
  • Members of project management offices

You do not need to meet any specific admission requirements to participate in this specialist course. If you wish to obtain ECTS credits, the general conditions for continuing education will apply: you will require a university degree or equivalent qualification and at least two years' professional experience. If you have any questions, please contact the study administration or the course coordinator. 

General admission requirements (in German)

Knowledge + abilities

Your professional status offers ideal opportunities for personal advancement and for the implementation of new approaches. You are prepared to share challenges from your own workplace as part of the course.

Specialist course of Bern University of Applied Sciences in Agile Team Leadership.

You will receive a certificate of participation. If you meet the admission requirements for studies and successfully pass the competency assessment, you will earn 3 ECTS credits. These will appear on your certificate.

This specialist course can be counted towards:

Organisation + Registration

The specialist course is a five-day course. Tuesday and Wednesday (8.30am–12 noon/1pm–4.30pm) every 14 days. The specialist course runs with a minimum of eight participants and a maximum of 24.

For further information and registration, please visit the German website. 

Documents required for registration

You can register online via registration form. For registration we require following documents (in PDF format, max. 1 MB per document): 

  • Diplomas 

  • Curriculum Vitae 

  • Passport-sized photo (in JPG format) 

Please upload these documents even if you have already submitted them for another application. 

Information on the specialist course

The deadline for registration is six weeks before the start of the course. Later registration will be possible if places are still available.

CHF 2,125

Course materials and proof of competence are included in the fee.

The continuing education regulations of the Bern University of Applied Sciences and the implementation regulations for the continuing education regulations apply. The right to make changes is reserved. In case of doubt, the wording of the legal provisions and regulations shall prevail.

Continuing Education Regulations of Bern University of Applied Sciences (WBR) (PDF, 133 KB)
Implementation Provisions for the Continuing Education Regulations WBR in the Business School (PDF, 81 KB)
Implementation Provisions for the Continuing Education Regulations (PDF, 77 KB)
Framework Study Regulations at Bern University of Applied Sciences (PDF, 127 KB)
Regulations on Scientific Integrity at Bern University of Applied Sciences (WissIR) (PDF, 140 KB)
Legal foundations

Advice + information events

Study Counselling

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Course coordinator

Administration

Information events

In addition to the information events we offer you our personal advice. By telephone or directly online via MS Teams.

Please contact us!

E-mail: weiterbildung.wirtschaft@bfh.ch 
Phone: 031 848 34 02

Location + facilities

Lessons take place at Schwarztorstrasse 48 in Bern.

Bern Schwarztorstrasse 48