Improving key competencies of project managers

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings Efficiency of project managers demands competence in many areas. Through appropriate development in different dimensions of core self-evaluation and cultural intelligence, companies can strengthen these manager competencies and enhance overall performance. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

Internet technologies

The material of the textbook is aimed at obtaining competencies in the field of Internet technologies. In a simple and accessible language, the theoretical foundations of Internet technologies are described, the study of which will help to eliminate gaps in knowledge on the current type of activity of almost every person. The seven workshops given in the manual will provide an opportunity to acquire skills and competencies that are in demand in the labor market and necessary for the implementation of professional and daily tasks. Meets the requirements of the federal state educational standards of higher education of the latest generation. For students and teachers of higher education and people interested in developing their key competencies in the field of information and communication technologies.

Building Community Resilience Through Environmental Education

The call for collaborative efforts to respond to climate change is heeded through bilateral and multilateral agreements. The UN Sustainable Development Goals bears testimony to the call. Environmental education is one of the vehicles to raise awareness, understanding, and assessment of sustainable development goals at a community level to build resilience for sustainability. Environmental education enhances the accomplishment of the key competencies for sustainability. Climate change is a complex environmental problem that is not only naturally induced, but made more stressful by anthropocentric capabilities in the quest for a better lifestyle. Although climate change causes and impacts are known, its mitigation strategies are compounded by human wants at the expense of their own sustainable survival. This chapter explores ways of building sustainable development in communities. Environmental education is a core development strategy in local communities against the adverse impact of climate change, especially in vulnerable areas.

Missions-Driven Leadership

In this chapter, we present the leadership style required by management by missions (MBM). We first make a brief review of the different types of leadership that have been proposed in the past: transactional, transformational and transcendental leadership. And then, we propose the key competencies of missions-driven leadership (MDL) structured in four areas: commitment with purpose and missions, developing a culture of cooperation through a sense of purpose, ability to implement the changes required by the organization’s purpose and the struggle for control the personal ego.

A Brief Review of Our Agile Teaching Formats in Entrepreneurship Education

Companies are confronted with increasingly demanding environments, including globalization, technologization, intergenerationality, and crises such as the coronavirus pandemic. To accept uncertainties as a challenge and to recognize opportunities for development, well-educated and resilient founders are needed who can foster innovation and sustainable development within society and the economy. The majority of today’s entrepreneurs have an academic background. Hence, institutions for higher education need to provide comprehensive educational offerings and support initiatives to train and sensitize future entrepreneurs. Therefore, since 2013, agile teaching formats have been developed in our project at a Bavarian university of applied sciences. In two stages, we founded a limited company for hands-on experimentation with entrepreneurship and also conceptualized an elective course and an annual founders’ night. Based on a theoretical model and continuous teaching evaluations, we adjusted the individual modules to suit the target group. The objective is to promote the acquisition of key competencies and exert a positive influence on the startup quotient in the region. There are six startups by students who can be traced back to our project. This indicates that a target-group-oriented educational program encourages motivation and awareness of entrepreneurial thinking and action among students.

Exploring Key Competencies and Professional Development of Music Teachers in Primary Schools in the Era of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) has introduced new era elements to the connotation of key competencies and professional development of music teachers in primary schools. The education management department in the AI era has flawed systems for the professional development of music teachers in primary schools. To assist music teachers in primary schools fulfill the development needs of the development of the times and enhance the quality of music education in primary schools, the status and income of music teachers in primary schools warrant improvement, and the system should be upgraded to promote the implementation of key competencies. Moreover, the related system construction of music teachers in primary schools should be reinforced by rationally arranging teachers, workload and creating a teacher learning community, in order to guide schools to provide a suitable environment for teachers, key competencies and professional development. Furthermore, methods like strengthening teachers, awareness of independent development and augmenting professional identity should be adopted to prompt teachers to comprehensively enhance their key competencies and professional development.

Emotions in our lives: the evaluation of a user-centered training course »living e-Motions« in the context of recovery of people with mental health challenges

Purpose This paper aims to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of a training course »Living e-Motions« for people living with mental health challenges in the context of their recovery. The course was developed in the joint project of partners from Spain, Estonia, Slovenia and the UK. The curriculum of the course is focused on emotional education. It uses a narrative approach as a practical way for participants to explore and regulate their emotions and consequently take charge of their recovery. Design/methodology/approach Seventeen participants were included in the pilot training in Spain and Estonia. Impact of the training was assessed on measures of life satisfaction, emotion regulation, positive and negative affect and recovery at baseline and directly after training. Findings The analysis revealed that participants reported higher life satisfaction, emotion regulation skills, positive affect and recovery after the training. However, because of the small sample size, the mean differences did not reach statistical significance. Further studies on larger samples are needed to test the effectiveness of the training course. Practical implications Pilot study findings are encouraging and show that the developed training course has a potential for improving key competencies and abilities needed in daily life, concretely in emotion regulation, positive and negative affect, life satisfaction and recovery. Originality/value This paper presents a novel training course that uses a narrative approach and focuses on recovery and improvement of key competencies and abilities of individuals with mental health issues.