As India rapidly advances into the digital age and as more and more of Indian companies have started managing offshore projects, it is imperative for Indian project managers of today that they take into account the complexities that arise due to cultural differences.

It was with this objective that Project Management Institute’s North India Chapter chose Managing Projects in a Multi – Cultural Environment as the theme for its first event, for the year 2007. It was also the first event in India which brought together Professionals from Germany, Luxembourg, USA and India for a common goal. The event attracted project professionals from all verticals of the industry from the Indian corporate. Even the Indian government sector was actively represented with members of the Indian Administrative services taking part in the event. Addressing Multi- Cultural issues can be difficult as they are both sensitive and of diverse nature. Apart from enlightening the audience on the
various factors involved in managing projects in a foreign environment, the event was also a huge success in exploring the common issues faced by professionals in working in projects involving cross cultural interaction. This event from PMI North India Chapter was a wonderful platform for Professionals belonging to various industries and different regions of the world to know one another and understand their viewpoints and approach towards global market issues.

With the Director General of Software Technology Parks, Mr. S N Zindal as Chief Guest, the event started with many valuable insights into how projects are being managed by the Indian government sector. Similarly, Mr. Prakash Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, elaborated on how India itself is home to diverse cultures, languages and lifestyles. He asserted that a standard means of communication – project management software and terminology can help reduce the cultural gap in project execution.

Addressing the audience in his Welcome note, Mr. Upendra Giri, Trustee| President, PMI North India Chapter emphasized on the growing need for adopting standard Project Management norms for project success in a multi cultural environment. He also introduced the new board members of the PMI North India Chapter and stated that PMI North India Chapter will continue playing an integral role in serving the project management community in India.

Dr. Rainer Kossow, Director Kossow & Jeggle Results GmbH + Co KG, in his Keynote Speech laid stress on the rapid economic growth of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries and the world’s increasing interest in exploring business opportunities in these regions. His elaboration on the “German View of Project Management in China” helped the audiences to understand the fact that the difficulties arising from the cultural variances in the business scenario is not exclusive to their part of the world.

The panel for the event comprised of, Ms. Lins Paul - Service Support Manager, Honeywell's Global Technology Services, Mr. Gerald Soisson - Head of Unit, "Strategy, Standardization and Quality Assurance" in service eLuxembourg - Government of Luxembourg, Mr. Christoph Jeggle - Senior Consultant Managing Director, Kossow & Jeggle Results GmbH + Co. KG, Dr. Lallan Giri - Vice President, Scientific Affairs, Emerged Solutions Bio Inc, Mr. Rajiv Gupta - Senior Vice President, HCL Technologies and Mr. Rohit Kumar - Country Head Public Sector, Microsoft India. The panel discussion on “Managing Projects in a Multi – Cultural Environment” was very thought provoking and also of great use to all the project professionals. The session generated a lot questions from the audience and provided them with a good insight on solving the issues that they come across in managing offshore projects.