Detailed Report: Project Management Scholarship at Curtin University

This report details a Project Management scholarship awarded by the Ministry of Labour and Social Development in Saudi Arabia for a Master of Science degree at Curtin University. The report outlines the background, objectives, deliverables for both the sponsor and the employee, requirements, exclusions, and key performance indicators (KPIs) of the scholarship. It also covers strategic alignment with the Saudi Arabian government's goals for human development, financial aspects including the approximate cost of the scholarship, and a timeline of key milestones. Furthermore, the report identifies potential risks such as homesickness, language barriers, and the possibility of shifting to the private sector after obtaining the degree. The scholarship aims to improve the employee's English language skills, project management expertise, career opportunities, and income, aligning with the government's vision of investing in its citizens' skills and expertise to achieve progress and excellence in their careers.

Sponsor: The Ministry of Labour and Social Development, and the Ministry of
Education
Project Name: Studying the Master of Science (Project Management) at Curtin University
Prepared By: Date: 28/02/2018

Problem/Opportunity Background
I had begun working after I had got my high school certificate without any universities certificate.
Whenever I appeared for a job interview I was told that my experience was good but they cannot heir
me as I do not have a proper university certificate or education qualification. This had made me
seriously worry regarding the future of my career. Therefore I enrolled myself is a part-time Business
Administration course specialising in Human Resources Management and Organization in one of the
prestigious universities of Saudi Arabia.
I gained a lot of confidence after I successfully received my bachelor's degree. Ambition and focus
helped me achieve my education certificate I further challenged myself to complete my higher
education. In order to do that I again enrolled myself in a master’s degree course. The first challenge
that I faced was in 2010, I failed to get the opportunity to study for a master's degree, as the higher
education system did not allow students with a part-time bachelor’s certificate to get scholarship. The
exception of this rule was for the Government employees. Therefore, I decided that move to work in
the public sector. After a lot of struggle I managed to get a job in the Ministry of Labour and Social
Development at the end of 2012. I received my scholarship three years later in 2015 for perusing
Master of Science (Project Management) at Curtin University.
Curtin University is known to be open-minded, progressive, innovative and lively and I thought that
it this university would be perfect for me to take my career to new heights. The University prepares
the student to survive in the competitive international market by recognising internationally
recognised courses. The Curtin university has international campuses in Perth, Singapore and
Sarawak.
One of the main reason for me to choose project management as my field of specialisation is the job
in the public sector that I had got. The Ministry of Labour and Social Development in Saudi Arabia
decided to establish a number of Project Management Departments in 2012. These new departments
will have requirements for higher level positions that would also ensure high salaries and several
benefits.
It is not an easy task to get a scholarship I had to endear a lot of hardships and struggle in the course
of time. First of all I had to get a good report in the yearly performance assessment from my manager
for consecutive three years before applying for the scholarship. Secondly, I had to improve my
spoken and written English language skills. Lastly I had to be selected by a reputed and recognised
university.
I will be working on getting the scholarship to develop my career and improve my skill set. I need to
organise my plan for the course period in terms of: cost, time, quality and the possible risks. I also
need to follow the execution process of the scholarship; it is being monitored by the Saudi Arabian
Cultural Mission.

Deliverables
Project Management Deliverables:
 Learning the software and training in the programmes
 Developing a project plan
 Ensuring a continuous progress report
 Documentation of the relevant information
 Sketching a proposal
Sponsors’ Deliverables
 Monitoring the initiation process of Scholarship
 Gathering financial guarantor for scholarship
 Travel tickets for the employees and their families
 Delivering a progress report
 Ensuring a monthly remuneration assigned to the employees
 To ensure skilled employees in every relevant public sector
 Create a group of future leaders and managers
 To motivate and encourage career development of the employees which in turn will ensure
higher productivity and performance
 To train the employees with good communication skills especially in oral and written English
Employee’s Deliverables
 To obtain a master degree certificate form the university
 To make sure that the student visa is organised before the allotted time
 To organise a plan for the course period
 To get a language certificate
 Ensuring all the assignments and projects are ready on time
 To learn and develop project management skills
Requirements
 Maintaining an attendance record of 90 percent
 Prerequisites of the graduation degree
 Performance certificate of excellence of the employee by the supervisors
 Finishing the graduation degree on time
 Provide a quarterly progress report on the student performance and achievements
 As a full time course the employees are not allowed to have any other source of income
Exclusions: The project does not support and fund additional fees such as tutoring or private classes
fees, overseas examination fees, and financial penalties.

BENEFITS KPIs
Improve the employee English
language skills
6 out of 9 employees have IELTS test results or get (-B) in
the bridging course before joining the university on
30/11/2016.
Develop the knowledge in the field of
project management
To improve the project management skills by 70 percent by
the end of 2018.
Raise the learning outcome of the
employee
To the attain 60 % in final GPA at graduation day on
25/11/2017
Increase the chances of joining the
ministry’s PM team.
 The course will provide 20% additional scope for those
who have the degree in project management at applying
date on 15/6/2018.
 It will also ensure 10% trade-off points for employees
with a master's degree in the applying time on
15/6/2018 (with the possibility of changing the date of
submission).
Increasing on the employee’s income  10-20% increment in monthly remuneration by the end
of 2018.
Additional growth of 20-40% in salary after joining the
Project Management Department by July 2018.
Improve the employee’s career
opportunities
Career development opportunities increase by 40 percent by
January 2020.
Strategic Alignment
The Saudi Arabia government
Educating and investing in improving the expertise and skill sets of the citizens is scientifically and
practically one of the major means of achieving the human development in the nations. This will lead
progress and excellence in the career which in turn will help them with living a high standard life.
The government provides the employees in every practical opportunity to improve and grow in the
career. This initiative will not only add to the foundation of a well educated and skilful leadership
generation, it will also provide the people with success instruments to have a bright and promising
future.
I aspire to grow and improve in my career by developing my skills. It is my goal to improve my
professional and financial status so that I can provide my family with a higher standard of living and
a better life. The scholarship price not only covers the expense for the employee but also looks after
the requirement of the family of the employee therefore; I can fully focus on my course without
worrying about the family.

Approximate Cost
A scholarship of 280,000 Australian dollars has been approved by The Ministry of Labour and Social
Development to each employee and their families. The payment procedure will take place through
the Saudi Cultural Mission. This amount is recognised to cover all the expenses of the employee until
they return with the degree.
Approximate Timeframe
The courses begin with the Approval of Employee’s Scholarship in July 2015 and the employee shall
return home by July 2018.
Milestones
1- Enrolling in reputed industry and applying for scholarship by January 2015
2- Ensuring the scholarship procedure is completed by May 2015
3- At least before study 30 days of enrolment, getting a student visa so that I can travel hassle-
free
4- Looking after the necessities of my family
5- To begin attending English classes from 25 July 2015
6- To successfully complete the General English (ELICOS) and Academic Purpose Level by 26
July 2016
7- To get the degree in English Language Bridging Course for International Students by 10
Nov 2016
8- To get the master degree in Science (Project Management) by the end of semester 1 2018
Key Risks
1- The course may be negatively impacted as the student may feel homesick.
2- Lack of fluency in the English language can be another barrier
3- Unable to follow the timetable during the tenure of the course
4- If the person is not focusing enough to obtain the degree
5- There are chances that the employee would shift to better opportunities in the private sector
after getting the degree
6- Lack of proper knowledge outcome
APPROVAL □ Yes │ □ No
______________________________ Date:____________
Sponsor