This course is designed for students from national and international markets who are, or wish to be, involved in delivering substantial infrastructure programmes. Alternatively, it is appropriate for students who wish to use the same or similar tools and techniques for policy intervention, or for programs of work in other unrelated industries. It is applicable to the public and private sectors.
The course is relevant at a local level in New Zealand to the kind of work which was contemplated by the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission. This course would have been relevant to the Infrastructure Commission and, more generally, to the sponsoring ministry, in the sense that training or nurturing senior managers to understand how to deliver infrastructure at scale against international benchmarks is not only important but also essential. In addition, it is clear that this kind of work, regardless of the jurisdiction, must have an intellectual benchmark on an international scale.
The knowledge and experience required of those delivering this kind of fixed asset (but not necessarily confined to building or civil engineering), or policy intervention, is different from almost any other management endeavours, although there are some similarities. The course, through its 6 foundation topics, begins to instil some of the required knowledge and continues with assessments that cover subject areas probably unfamiliar to most of those taking the course. This is deliberate because those attending the course who aspire one day to do this kind of thing, or who are heading in that direction, will almost certainly find themselves working outside their original subject area.
The course, therefore, extends thinking beyond managing an individual project, into managing multiple projects and programmes more generally. The purpose of these kinds of programs is usually to deliver strategic outcomes and optimise the use of resources at a macro level. The course provides a blend of theory, tools, and techniques. The use of case studies provides context to illustrate this series and allows students to build confidence in managing projects and programmes in a range of industry contexts. Case study examples are also used to analyse causes of success and failure, to identify lessons learned, and to formulate plans for improvement in the delivery of infrastructure programs. A variety of examples are used to extend studies beyond textbook management into the aspects of complexity and ambiguity where solutions are not obvious.