Studying is best when surrounded in a supportive environment.
But other than back to school or possibly college times, in what rare occasion can someone in their professional career stage, trying to increase their knowledge by taking additional classes or learning new concepts and methodologies, would found such surrounding?
Even in a professional or executive classess, such environment may not be built properly due to the fact that we, as worker, have limited time and bandwidth that makes it difficult for us to invest ourselves into joining such classes (and off-classes) participations. However, we all do know the benefit of having a study peers, getting into interactive discussions of on-and-off study topics, having a supportive learning environment, and how having all that would propel our success toward both understanding the new subject at hand, and achieving the end goal of passing the grade with flying colors.
For learning PMBOK's and preparing the PMP Exam, The Project Management Insititute's Chapter Indonesia has an initiative just for that. Started off in a community discussion, where few of the Chapter members committed to the setting up the first Study Group in 2012, they gathered with the intention of actively learning for understanding PMBOK and collaboratively preparing for their PMP Exam. Which is necessary, due to the level of difficulties of PMP Exam relatively back then.
It has now becoming a regular season's event, run formally under the PMI IC (Indonesia Chapter).
Right now Indonesia Chapter's PMP Study Group is currently running on its SG-19 series, with dozens of mentors ready available on standby, with venue and schedule all set to support.
It hasn't always been like that. There was a time when SG had to run in bare minimal and rely on self-support.
We, the three founders of ITERATION Project Management Training, had bonded over while we studied together in SG-12 as we were preparing for our PMP Exam, and a little over after that when we continued to eagerly conduct mini Study Group(s) and have found revelation that our passion are indeed in knowledge sharing and teaching back the subject.
As we've built ITERATION alongside, each of us from ITERATION were still actively contributing and participating in the PMP Study Group consecutively; in SG-14, SG-15, SG-16, SG-17 and last was SG-18 within the Covid pandemics. Even in the smaller-cell mini Groups post each SG.
What we can say about the Study Group is that we are humbled to have been part of its journey, and how it have changed a lot -for the better- and how it carries on, invigorated by the support of each of its 'alumni' with as little jargon as 'Lulus gak Lulus, Semua kembali ke Study Group' which proliferates its network expansion and strengthen the PMP community -or in a tackier version: widening our big, happy, Study Group family 🙂
Study Group attain to preserve its noble value; free knowledge-sharing in togetherness spirit.
One of our founder had joined-in Study Group since SG-8 and SG-9 (but did not pass his exam that first time due to lack of time committed into the program). He can tell that the Study Group did evolve a lot, and that there can be interesting stories which might be worthy to share on here, to track the background of its transformation.
So stick around if you're into History, as we'll continue to write and share more about Indonesia Chapter's PMP Study Group in the coming articles.