Abstract:

In addition to the technical knowledge acquired during the academic training, it is equally important to develop skills and attitudes demonstrated in a job, which can be a distinctive factor respect to other human resources of the company. Project management stands out among these distinctive competences, and it is a professional competence of great importance in any activity sector. This competence can be acquired in different University Schools, such as the Civil Engineering School (Universitat Politècnica de València). In this particular School, Project Management is taught as a part of the Business Management subject in the fourth year of Civil Engineering Degree, as well as Project Management subject in the Master of Science in Planning and Management in Civil Engineering. One of the objectives of these subjects is that students acquire the knowledge of "good practices" in project management, which are included in the guide of the Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK). In order to detect the knowledge of the students in these good practices and its influence in the achievement of project success, questionnaires have been elaborated and distributed to the students at the beginning and at the end of the course of these two subjects. In this way, it is possible to compare the prior knowledge of the students and their progress once the management courses have been taken. Likewise, this communication highlights the differences between postgraduate and graduate students, as well as differences related to age, gender, nationality or previous qualifications. Finally, the students' preference for management in construction respect to other branches of civil engineering is also analyzed.

Keywords:

Knowledge acquisition, project management, distinctive competences project success.