“We wish to see this initiative develop the best project and functions managers across the whole industry. We have entered this agreement because we believe collaboration between academics and industry is crucial to further develop our perspectives and skills in project developments. We want to be a benchmark in the market,” says executive vice president in Statoil Projects & Procurement Gunnar Myrebøe.

The Research Initiative, called “Understanding Success and Developing Management Leadership on International Mega Projects”, is headed by UC Berkeley professor Iris Tommelein and NTNU professor Asbjørn Rolstadås.

The initiative brings together an international and multi-disciplinary group of academic researchers and industry colleagues with expertise in mega-project management to collaborate on case-study research in mega-projects.

Participants in the so-called P2SL Mega-projects Initiative will develop a comprehensive understanding of how to lead, manage and succeed within international mega projects.

The centre was launched to improve intellectual understanding and practices, including those within international mega projects, Staoil states in a press release.

Statoil and the University of California, Berkeley, have since 2006 had a cooperation todevelop and run a programme for managing Statoil’s large and complex development projects. 

NTNU is Norway’s second largest university. Its 53 departments are spread out over seven major campuses, and graduate about 3,300 students every year, two-thirds of which are master’s or PhD candidates.

(Press release)

Rolleiv Solholm