Roads and Transport Authority: Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has unveiled the findings of the 6th Dubai International Projects Management Forum (DIPMF) (7-10 December 2019). Held under the theme Cultural Diversity, the event was privileged by the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince, Chairman of the Executive Council.

“The sixth edition of Dubai International Projects Management Forum (DIPMF) constituted of 43 sessions comprising 6 keynote speeches, 7 masterclasses, 3 discussion panels, 26 parallel sessions and one closed session. The forum attracted more than 2000 participants including project management pioneers from the region and beyond,” said Ms. Moaza Al Marri, Executive Director - Office of the Director General and Chairman of the Board cum Chairperson of the Organising Committee of DIPMF.

“The success of the latest DIPMF edition is reflected in the healthy number of attendees, a great lineup of global speakers and many business and project management doyens. It is also epitomised in the key recommendations concluded in the Forum for enriching the concept of project management across the UAE and the region. Findings covered five core areas, namely, leadership, strategy, technology, benefits management and megaprojects, detailed as follows:

Leadership: leaders have to nurture a positive working environment in their organisations and teams. Successful leaders attach every attention to responding to customer needs and demonstrate the ability to inspire their teams. Project managers have to understand the cultural diversity of their teams and address it in managing the communication of their projects.

Strategy: Government bodies have to appreciate the social and ecological impacts of their projects. They have to care for artificial intelligence & innovation and embark on agile management of projects. They have to care for remote project management and virtual teams in future projects, focus more on envisioning and keeping pace with future trends.

Technology: Organisations have to appreciate that technology is the key driver of transformation and change. Sophisticated technologies, such as big data and artificial intelligence, play a vital role in running shared mobility and self-driving transport projects. To ensure the optimal implementation of technology, organisations should develop clear visions firmly linked with their corporate strategy before embarking on the implementation of applications of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. They have to invest in creating a suitable and flexible technological infrastructure to ensure the success of artificial technology applications and data analysis. They have also to invest in fostering the culture of data analysis and artificial intelligence amongst their individuals. Governments have to integrate Building Information Modelling (BIM) in various affiliated departments. They have to appreciate the remarkable contribution of Augmented Reality technologies in improving customer’s experience through the innovative display of information.

Benefits Management: The forum focused on the importance of projects sustainability for maximizing the benefits of projects. There is a need to utilise the anticipated benefits of projects management such that they become key drivers of change besides the setting of priorities. Organisations have to benefit from effective and updated databases to empower successful practices of benefits management in projects.

Megaprojects: Megaprojects have to be addressed as a package of programmes and projects portfolios whenever applicable. Businesses have to hold periodic gatherings of leaders and staff of their projects.

“These recommendations mirror the global attention to Dubai International Projects Management Forum, which has become a top destination for representatives of the business sector as well as leaders and specialists of the project management industry worldwide. In its capacity as one of the biggest entities in terms of strategic projects in the region and the world over, RTA assigns due consideration to study the findings of each edition of DIPMF and endeavours to implement them in leveraging project management concept in Dubai. These findings will set the base for the seventh edition of DIPMF in 2020,” concluded Al Marri.