Seminar «Key Concepts and Trends in Project Controlling»

On April 10, 2025, within the framework of the XV Forum of Young Scientists of the Kazakh-American Free University “Modern Scientific Directions: from Applied Research to Innovations”, a seminar “Key Concepts and Trends in Project Controlling” was held.

The main speaker of the event was Kai Nobach, Professor of the Ohm Technical University of Applied Sciences (Germany), a specialist in business, finance and accounting. The guests of the seminar were university professors, as well as students interested in developing their own projects (in fact, only one student).

The seminar began with a discussion of the company’s strategy for creating effective projects. Kai Nobach shared his personal experience in developing strategies, and also spoke about planning and risk assessment methods.

During the seminar, an algorithm for project development was presented, including five key stages:

– Project control methods;

– Identification and selection of suitable projects;

– Risk assessment and project planning;

– Project execution control concepts;

– Project management and its further development.

Different approaches to developing a project plan were also considered. Among them were the Waterfall method, which assumes a rigid structure with fixed deadlines and budgets, and Agile, which focuses on flexibility, processes and the ability to make changes.

Special attention was paid to the tools for measuring the earned value, in particular the comparison of planned cost, earned value and actual costs.

At the end of the seminar, Kai Nobach emphasized that effective project control helps to achieve the company’s strategic goals, optimize the use of resources, reduce risks and increase overall efficiency.

In addition, Kai Nobach gave a presentation of the international summer school in Nuremberg at the Ohm Technical University of Applied Sciences (Germany) for 2nd and 3rd year students of KAFU. He spoke about the curriculum, conditions for participation and opportunities that open up to students within the framework of international exchange.

The seminar was useful for KAFU teachers and students, allowing them to better understand the importance of project control and its application in practice.

Material prepared by Sofia Koltygina