We are delighted to announce that Professor Darren Dalcher has joined the Department of Management Science as Professor in Strategic Project Management at LUMS.

Darren has built a reputation as leader and innovator in the area of practice-based education and reflection in project management and has designed, developed and launched the UK’s first professional doctorate in project management, alongside an extensive suite of executive and professional masters programmes and diplomas. He was named by the Association for Project Management as one of the top 10 influential experts in project management and has also been voted Project Magazine’s Academic of the Year for his contribution in “integrating and weaving academic work with practice”.

He has been chairman of the influential APM Project Management Conference for an unprecedented five years, expanding the scope of the event, setting consecutive attendance records, bringing together the most influential speakers, exploring the boundaries and interactions of the profession and forging cross-disciplinary dialogue.

In October 2011 he was awarded a prestigious lifetime Honorary Fellowship from the Association for Project Management for outstanding contribution to the discipline of project management.

Within his new role at Lancaster, Darren will be forming a new group and Centre focused on successful management by projects, programmes and portfolios. Darren will be working with colleagues to strengthen and support existing expertise and develop an enterprise and industry-focused provision of executive education, short courses, industrial funding and professional and executive qualifications at masters and doctoral levels aimed at addressing the needs of business and industry. He will also be working with partners to expand the boundaries of existing knowledge and practice, as well as organising events and knowledge sharing activities and establishing LUMS at the core of enterprise, research and knowledge exchange in the context of project and programme work.

We would like to wish Darren a warm welcome to LUMS!