The collaboration agreement was signed by Audun Kjeldsen (right), vice president Project Management, Projects and Procurement, Statoil, and Paul K. Wright, director, CITRIS, University of California, Berkeley.
“We wish to see this initiative develop the best project and functions managers across the whole industry. We have entered this agreement because we believe collaboration between academics and industry is crucial to further develop our perspectives and skills in project developments. We want to be a benchmark in the market,” says executive vice president in Statoil Projects & Procurement Gunnar Myrebøe.
The Research Initiative, called “Understanding Success and Developing Management Leadership on International Mega Projects”, is headed by UC Berkeley professor Iris Tommelein and NTNU professor Asbjørn Rolstadås.
Gunnar Myrebøe, executive vice president in Statoil Projects & Procurement. (Photo: Trond Isaksen)
Multi-disciplinary
The initiative brings together an international and multi-disciplinary group of academic researchers and industry colleagues with expertise in mega-project management to collaborate on case-study research in mega-projects.
Participants in the so-called P2SL Mega-projects Initiative will develop a comprehensive understanding of how to lead, manage and succeed within international mega projects.
The centre was launched to improve intellectual understanding and practices, including those within international mega projects.
Cross collaboration
The goal of the initiative is twofold. Firstly, to increase successful management and leadership knowledge base on mega-projects, by working on a multi-disciplinary basis between research institutions, industry personnel and key contractors.
Secondly, to develop educational material in order to strengthen Statoil's supplier companies' capabilities in managing mega-projects in geographically and geopolitically diverse settings.
“Large-scale projects may cost billions of dollars to perform and deliver. As Statoil’s projects become more geographically diverse and complex, they also become increasingly challenging to lead and manage”, Myrebøe underlines.
Cooperation
Statoil and the University of California, Berkeley, have since 2006 had a cooperation to develop and run a programme for managing Statoil’s large and complex development projects.
The cooperation with Berkeley is part of the Project Academy, which is the business area Project and procurement’s management development programme. The Academy was started several years ago to meet the the challenges related to large and complex projects.