Late last month, five Durham College (DC) Project Management (PM) students placed first at the Ontario Project Management Competition (OPMC), showcasing their ingenuity and professionalism, as well as their dedication to local community, with plans to donate their monetary prize to United Way Durham.

Competing against numerous teams from universities and colleges across Ontario, DC’s team of five – which included Lauren Proulx, Ian D’Sousa, Saif Ahmed, Marc Monfredi, and Matthew Zigelstein – were required to address one of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through their project, DC Green Matters. They were then evaluated by a panel of certified Project Management Professionals (PMP) on their use of industry best practices, principles and techniques as they took their project from ideation to completion over the span of two months.

In addition to a monetary prize, the students will also receive passes to the largest PM conferences in North America, gain affiliation with the Project Management Institute (PMI) Toronto, and will receive an invitation to a premium PMI event to network with engaged PMPs. This is the first win for DC PM students in a competition of this kind, and DC is proud of their achievement and success.

The OPMC is based on a yearly competition hosted by the Wideman Education Foundation – an inclusive community that promotes PM competencies, skills, and opportunities within the field to students. For 2021, OPMC hosted their competition virtually. To learn more, please visit www.pmitoronto.ca/opmc.