This episode features Ros Lishman (University of Cumbria, UK), Rich Maltzman (Boston University, USA), Nigel Williams (University of Portsmouth, UK) chatting about using ChatGPT in learning, teaching and assessment in the context of developing professional project managers and leaders.

The recording is also available on the PMI People, Planet, Profits & Projects Blog - The ChatGPT Educator's Quandary , following on from Rich's PMI blog ChatGPT Ate My Brain.

Recorded 25 January 2023

Our guest is Dr Beverly Pasian.

In the interview: Bev talks about her research into the quality of life in smart cities.  Some key highlights from the discussion: the importance of being human - for project managers to be more mindful of their actions impacting on the quality of life; some aspects of smart cities are overlooked, for example housing; and “...the world of project management research was morally ambiguous”.

About Beverly Pasian: Bev is a smart city expert and an enthusiastic project management advocate. She is an Associate Professor and Senior Researcher at the Utrecht University of Applied Sciences in The Netherlands and conference series chair for the IEEE European Technology & Engineering Management Summit (ETEMS).  To find out more about ETEMS visit: 2021 conference; 2022 conference; 2023 conference.

About the podcast: Asking the questions are Dr Nigel Williams (UK), Richard Maltzman (USA) & Ros Lishman (UK).

Bev answers questions on: What are smart cities, and why they are important?; What sorts of projects and programs do they launch?; What is quality of life and why is it important?; How do smart cities contribute to quality of life; How does quality of life differ by country or region?; Which type of smart city projects seem to have the greatest impact of quality of life?; As project managers, what can we do to improve quality of life in our communities?

Podcast recorded on 26 October 2022.

Available to view as a video on Spotify.

Our guest is Trey Sherard.

In the interview: Trey gives tremendous context on the realities of a watershed and the interconnectedness of rivers and surrounding land. He talks about the projects to clean up one of the most polluted rivers in the world, how the stakeholders in this area of Washington were underserved (due to the lower income of surrounding residents) and how an awakening has occurred in the area amongst the business owners, community leaders, and environmentalists, resulting in a vast improvement in the river’s water quality and reduction of plastic contaminants, with much work still left to be done.

About Trey Sherard: Trey is a biologist, researcher, teacher, and river guide, who recently won the River Network’s River Hero award. Trey serves as a community organizer and a voice for the Anacostia River. In addition to coordinating Anacostia Riverkeeper’s Clean Waterways cleanup series, he manages several Bandalong litter traps and ARK’s green infrastructure program. Most recently, Trey used volunteer-collected data to advocate for and unanimously pass the polystyrene foam ban in Washington, DC. His gifts of inspiration and education make him a powerful advocate for a fishable and swimmable Anacostia. One of the Worldsaver podcast crew was lucky enough to be on board one of Trey’s tours and luckily was able to book him for a podcast appearance.

About the Anacostia Riverkeeper project: Visit https://www.anacostiariverkeeper.org/ 

About the podcast: Asking the questions are Dr Nigel Williams (UK) & Richard Maltzman (USA).

Trey answers questions on: Who are you and how are you saving the world?; Tell us a little about the Anacostia River; What is the watershed and why is understanding that an important piece of your work? On your site, you list four things that you do: Mitigate Stormwater, Mitigate Stormwater, Mitigate Trash, Protect the River, and Connect Communities, can you say more about this?; What does the community have to do to make the Anacostia swimmable again?.

Podcast recorded on 26 April 2022.

Available to view as a video on Spotify.

Our guests are Emily Hazelwood and Amber Sparks.

In the interview: Emily and Amber discuss their programs to repurpose oil rig structures as coral reefs, which turns out to be an economically and ecologically good solution to the end-of-life of these structures. Learn how they combine and apply their talents and passions around marine biology, diving, sustainability, and project management.

About Emily Hazelwood: Emily is a marine conservation biologist and offshore energy consultant. She has a B.A. in Environmental Science from Connecticut College and an M.A.S degree in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation from Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Emily was recognized on Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the energy sector for her work with Blue Latitudes to develop sustainable, creative, and cost-effective solutions for the environmental issues that surround the offshore energy industry.

Emily has extensive experience as a project manager conducting marine environmental impact assessments and designing and implementing Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) surveys for governmental agencies and private sector clients worldwide. Much of her work is centered around the ecological, socio-economic, regulatory and policy issues surrounding the implementation of Rigs to Reefs programs in the United States and internationally.

About Amber Sparks: Amber is a marine environmental scientist and oil and gas consultant. She has a B.A. in Marine Science from UC Berkeley and a M.A.S in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation from Scripps Institution of Oceanography. In 2018, Amber was recognized on Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the energy sector for her work with Blue Latitudes to develop sustainable, creative, and cost-effective solutions for the environmental issues that surround the offshore energy industry.

Amber also has a strong background in technology and public outreach. A former Ocean Curator at Google, she engineered and launched intelligent layers in Google Earth and Google Maps that distill and relate complex concepts in ocean science for a variety of audiences. Today she uses those skills in the oil and gas industry to map fishing activity in proximity to offshore structures and inform decommissioning decisions in relation to commercial fisheries.

About the podcast: Asking the questions are Dr Nigel Williams (UK) & Richard Maltzman (USA)

Emily & Amber answer questions on: What were the social and political factors that encouraged or inhibited the consideration of Rigs2Reef projects?; What quantitative and qualitative areas do you consider for a R2R project business case?; What are the milestones and timeframes for a typical R2R project?; How are R2R projects aligned with existing or planned initiatives at a community or location?; How did you manage stakeholder tensions in previous R2R projects?; What approaches did you use to identify and communicate positive and negative uncertainties in R2R Projects?; What can communities do – what have they done - to signal their support for R2R?; How do you quantify potential uses of the R2Rs by other stakeholders such as diving tour operators or other marine tourism operators?

First available on 10 October 2021 on Youtube.

Available to view as a video on Spotify.