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| Giacomo Pini in action (photo by Christos Vidalakis) |
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| Giacomo Pini (photo by George Blumberg) |
A few days later, I caught up with Giacomo and he agreed to answer a few questions about his background and experiences at Oxford Brookes...
What is your background and why did you choose to go into Project Management?
I’ve always been passionate about numbers, so I studied Civil Engineering and obtained a bachelor and master degree. At the end of my education, I did an exchange in Denmark with a focus on construction management. From that time, I started to become passionate about management, scheduling and supervision. Project Management is wide, complete, fulfilling. It includes most of the knowledge of the construction industry and that makes it, to my eyes, one of the best paths to follow.
Why did you choose the MSc Construction Project Management at Oxford Brookes?
At the time I took the decision to enrol, I was working for a consultancy in Venice. I felt like my knowledge of project management wasn`t broad enough and I wanted to take the chance to improve all the basics I learned before. I did some research online, talked to alumni on LinkedIn, looked at university ranking and the MSc CPM at Brookes was the one choice leading the race. So, I left my work at that time and started this path.
What was it like when you arrived and started the course?
I was curious most of all and a bit thoughtful, as I was wondering if that was the right path. The first weeks were enough to convince me that I did take the right decision. The subjects included the exact knowledge I was looking for, well explained and in a good atmosphere. The other students, following the MSc with me, were all great people, with a so diverse background.
Looking back over your MSc, what were the highlights? And the most challenging bits?
If I look back, I can say that what were the main challenges I had to face, soon became the highlights of my experience. The background of every student was so diverse that everyone initially tackled problems in a different manner. It was a challenge itself to look at a common solution together.
Soon we all learned how to cooperate and match our background knowledge, making this way, all the teamwork exercises, a pleasure to complete.
What advice would you give to someone starting the MSc?
Be open, be flexible. The knowledge comes, and the concepts can be learned. But it`s the relationship with your professors and classmates that counts the most. If that is enjoyable, you learn more, appreciate more and live the experience fully.
Which subject area did you focus on for your dissertation and why?
As my engineering background was still strong in my thoughts, I looked for a topic where engineering and management were meeting. I researched underground constructions and methods, the way top-down structures are built, the match between feasibility, schedule, budget and technical details. I collected data from professionals in the industry, from engineers, to project managers, to schedulers, to tackle the knowledge in its completeness.
What have you got planned for the next 5 years career-wise?
I`m currently working as a Tunnel Engineer after a 2 years’ experience as a Field Engineer. I`m looking at progressing forward in my career moving into roles as Site Manager or Section Engineer.
I`m trying always to match engineering with management. I do like the technical aspects of the constructions as I do like the organization of activities and management, so I work hard to be able to understand and handle both.
Thank you Giacomo. For more information on the MSc CPM and the other postgraduate courses in construction, click on the links below:
MSc Construction Project Management
MSc Project Management in the Built Environment
MSc Building Information Modelling and Management
MSc Quantity Surveying and Commercial Management
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