Do your students perform well when working in teams and collaborating? Do they show interest in IT to improve society’s quality? Are they are committed and responsible? If they do so, they could work in STEM by becoming Head of Projects Management Department! This job profile requires people with skills such as critical thinking, collaboration, and personal responsibility. Do you see these abilities in your students? Then you need to read the complete job profile to inspire your students! Meet Dimitra Tsakanika, Head of Projects Management Department.
Meet the professional
For this STEM Job Profile, we talked with Dimitra Tsakanika. Dimitra is in charge of the management, implementation, and evaluation of research ICT projects funded by the EU as well as the management of National Projects focusing on the improvement of Athenian citizens’ quality of life. She is Head of Projects Management Department at DAEM SA in Athens.
Skills
Critical Thinking
“It is required in EU proposal preparation and ICT projects”. As head of projects, it is necessary to distinguish valuable and useful information from what it is not. Besides, you need it to understand the needs of each project.
Project Management
As the own job title states, the head of projects needs to be an expert on project management. From writing new projects proposals, undertaking administrative tasks, to liaise with partners and stakeholders and attend conferences, this skill is essential for this job profile.
Collaboration
If you are a social person who enjoys teamwork and collaboration, this is for you. Head projects spend most of their working day exchanging emails, having meetings or video conferences, and participating in events.
Initiative
Leading the management department means having the initiative to guide and support your team, and to find new and innovative projects. As a head of projects working in the ICT field, it requires a proactive attitude to be up to date in the most advanced technologies.
Writing
One of the tasks of the head of projects is writing new projects proposals, drafting deliverables, and making reports and evaluations of the different projects managed. For this reason, being able to write properly and paying attention to detail is demanded.
Personal Responsibility
Being the head of the projects management department requires great commitment to meet the deadlines on the promises made to the different parties and to take responsibility for the team. It is “highly important for performing everyday workload”.
Download the career sheet
Advice to take away
I would advise students to follow the motto “carpe diem”, to learn as much as they can, to experiment in different fields, to learn to discuss, to hear all different opinions supporting their own, to doubt, and to be open-minded. All these will conduct them to get more knowledge, to acquire self-confidence and self-knowledge.
Disclaimer
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0: all the materials and content presented on this STEM Job profile have been co-created by STE(A)M IT, in collaboration with DUET, a project funded by the EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No.870697.