Professional Diploma in Practical Project Management

Start Date Thursday 24th September 2026

Duration 10 Weeks, 1 evening per week

Learning Mode Live Online | On Campus

Contact Hours 30

Payment Options

instalment plan available

Project management is the use of specific knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to deliver something of value to people.

We believe that learning is most effective when presented in a relevant context so that the skills, strategy, and knowledge are meaningful to learners and can be applied directly in the training.

This project management course takes learners from the concept and feasibility of a project right through to close out and review and reflection. You will learn about planning, organising, controlling, staffing, finance and budgets and people. The skills learned on the programme can then be applied to any sector and multiple roles and graduates may have a desire to go on and pursue professional certification on exams such as PMP certification through the PMI or Agile/Scrum qualifications.

Our training methodology is based on the premise that participants/adults have their own experience and we utilise a process of questioning and generating a dialogue before presenting concepts and models. By doing this vs. lecturing, we gain participant involvement and buy-in before we build models and teach learning points. This makes the learning relevant to your experience.

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Professional Diploma in Practical Project Management

On Campus

Study in a classroom environment one evening a week.

City centre location
Fully interactive limited class size
10 weeks, 1 evening per week
Starting Thursday 24th September 2026
6.30 to 9.30pm
Instalment plan available, subject to €100 handling fee

Course Locations & Pricing
Location	Starting	Price
Dublin 2 City Centre	September 2026	€995.00

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Payment plans available

€995.00

Live Online

Live online training with real-time instructor-student interaction.

Live & fully online
Archived for review
10 Weeks, 1 evening per week
Starting Thursday 24th September 2026
6.30 to 9.30pm
Instalment plan available, subject to €100 handling fee

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Payment plans available

€895.00

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Course Details

Course structure

1. Intro to the Project Management Course
Background to Project Management. What is a project? Why do we need to plan? Common Mistakes. Leadership and structure within the Project. Stakeholder interaction

2. Start Planning and don’t stop until the project is over
Bounding the Goal of the Project – Objectives, stakeholders, constraints, assumptions. Determining the SUCCESS criterion. Visualising the goal. Three factors that can be varied to suit your project

3. Objectives and Deliverables
Main Phases and the WBS – work breakdown structure. What is it and how to build one based on the Objectives

4. Detailed task list
The Granularity required for a successful project. Estimation and Informed guesswork. This is one of several passes through the plan. Checklists and catch-alls (Tollgates)

5. Staffing your project
Who does what and when? What kind of staff do you have? How to get the best out of them. What to do with troublesome colleagues

6. Contingency – you need it no matter what anyone says
Margin for Error. Types of Contingency. What to do if it all goes wrong

7. Communicating the plan and managing the expectations
Be visible and be brave. Telling the truth and staying “on message”. Giving the Kick-off presentation. Broadcasting your message and making sure everyone is on the same page

8. Your daily and weekly routine as a Project Manager
How often to re-plan? How to deal with the unexpected, and how to run meetings

9. Reporting and change management
Be real, be ruthless and be upfront. Need to know and sins of omission. The status report

10. The Post Mortem
Who should be there and when should it be done. What went right. What went wrong.
Lessons Learned and what you can bring with you on your next project

Course content is subject to review after each intake and may be updated in line with industry standards.

Assessments / Exams

This Project Management course is assessed by a Professional Development Project (PDP). The learning philosophy underpinning this form of assessment is that students learn best from applying the concepts, models etc, they have covered in the classroom and in their directed reading to a practical organisational setting.

In doing this, students develop a greater knowledge and understanding of innovation and design thinking and of how it can be applied in a practical context. The objective of your Professional Development Project is to provide a platform in job interviews and your Performance Reviews at work to demonstrate your aspirations and worth to your organisation.

A pass grade on the written assignment will be required for awarding the Diploma.

The assignment/project must be handed in on the due date unless a sound reason for lateness is provided. In such instances, an extension may be awarded at the discretion of the lecturer.

Course award

A City College Dublin’s Professional Diploma Course is a focused, practical programme designed and delivered by an industry practitioner, that consolidates, upskills or reskills learners in a professional area. They are stand-alone qualifications that indicate that you have been trained in a particular area or specific subject matter.

City College Dublin Diplomas are suitable for career minded learners wishing to advance their professional skills and prospects. They are widely accepted by employers and many students are sponsored to study here by their organisation.

Corporate training

In addition to our scheduled Professional Diploma courses, City Colleges Dublin can provide bespoke training over 3 – 4 days, please contact [email protected] for further details.

Professional Diploma in Practical Project Management

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Keith Finglas

Keith is an experienced programme manager and team leader, used to managing and delivering scopes around strategy, routine objectives and crisis situations – or what one client called ‘living in the middle of gory messes’.

He has worked in U.S.A., South America, Europe (Belgium, U.K.), Middle and Far East, spending 21 years for G.E. (U.S.A.), Guinness U.K. and Intel Ireland, where his ultimate position was innovation project office manager.

He helps teams and organisations develop and deliver better projects, either by improving their solutions through the application of design thinking, improving their execution strengths through good project management skills, processes and behaviours, or understanding organisations and how their dynamics can help/hinder change.

Keith believes almost all teams are capable of surpassing the expectations placed on them, if given the chance to participate and contribute.

Keith worked initially in the Gas Turbine, Brewing and Semi-Conductor Industries but, since leaving Intel, has worked in innovation in many sectors in Ireland, including Food/Drink, Financial Services, Electronic Devices, Services and Education. A co-author of an Intel paper on innovation in software development, Keith has a strong interest in education. Innovation programmes started by IDL in Ireland have seen over 1,750 participants complete their courses over the last 7 years.