In May 2025, we delivered this initiative to provide a hands-on learning experience for 10 Master of Project Management students enrolled in Project Management Practice (BUSM1278) course.
Story by: Salman Shooshtarian and Simon Philips
RMIT University is at the forefront of providing industry-driven learning experience for its students. Through various initiatives, the faculty staff members are constantly looking for ways to develop opportunity to be exposed to the industry environment and practice. Particularly, the Project Management discipline at the School of Property, Construction and Project Management (PCPM), has developed several initiatives in partnership with different internal and external entities. These initiatives are aligned with RMIT Strategy’s Strategy: Knowledge with Action – Direction 1: Learning through Life & Work . Immersion Day is one of these initiatives that was developed in partnership the PCPM’s Project Management discipline and the RMIT’s Strategy Execution (Project Management Uplift) team.
In May 2025, we delivered this initiative to provide a hands-on learning experience for 10 Master of Project Management students enrolled in Project Management Practice (BUSM1278) course. This event was a result of events run in prior years and involved planning and content development in collaboration between the PCPM teaching staff and project professional across RMIT.
The event was held at RMIT’s Francis Ormond Building (Court Room No. 3, Building 1, Figure 1) and included a series of workshops delivered by staff running active projects in RMIT. During this event, the students – primarily international and with limited or no prior Australian work experience – participated in various activities that deepened their understanding of project management concepts as applied to the RMIT organisational setting.
Figure 1. Project Management postgraduate students’ exposure to risk management methodology. Image source: Salman Shooshtarian
Students who attended the event were selected through an expression of interest process, with final selection based on their demonstrated engagement in course activities throughout the semester. The workshops lasted for 9 hours and started from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm.
As can be seen in Figure 2 a wide range of discipline related topics were delivered during the workshop which have given the students a clear indication of how the theory of project management taught in BUSM1278, and other PM Program’s courses offer a solution to the industry needs and challenges.
Figure 2. A visual summary of the Immersion Day’s event agenda. Source: Simon Philips and Salman Shooshtarian
At the conclusion of the event each student received a certificate of completion (Figure 3). They also responded to a quick survey on the effectiveness of the educational content in this event.
Figure 3. Students’ end of event group photo with their certificates of completion. Image source: Omid Haass.
Coordination of this event, enriched by the insights of RMIT’s internal project professionals, showcased the capability of RMIT’s in-house expertise to support authentic, situated learning. The results of the post-event survey indicate a highly positive reception from participants. Approximately 78% of attendees rated the overall experience of the event as excellent, reflecting strong satisfaction with its content and delivery. Additionally, over 88% of respondents stated that the event moderately to significantly enhanced their project management knowledge and demonstrates the event’s educational value. Notably, an equal proportion of participants reported that the session contributed to improving their employability prospects after graduation. This figure highlights that the event had relevance to real-world career development. In the days following the event, several students who attended enthusiastically shared their positive experiences on LinkedIn, highlighting their participation as a notable achievement.
PCPM’s Project Management discipline is now planning to replicate this success in the second semester of 2025. In addition the discipline team is partnering with Seekr Agency – the organisation RMIT engages to for the RMIT Graduation event – to deliver another event under the Immersion Day model. As part of this initiative, ten undergraduate project management students will visit Seekr Agency’s office to gain first-hand insights into the significance of event management, as well as the planning and delivery requirements of large-scale events.
