Project Podcast

Emma visits Elstree Studios, which has been home to TV soap EastEnders since 1985. She goes behind the scenes of a project to create new production and post-production suites from a derelict building and to give actors new dressing rooms and make-up rooms. Get a flavour of what it's like on a construction project in a creative environment with cast and crew filming all around as the project takes shape.

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Emma meets Anne Marie Purcell, C-Suite Advisor in Transformational Change in Delivery and Transport; Nermeen Latif, Technical Director of Digital Solutions at WSP; and Glen Kelly, Programme Manager at CoStar Live Lab.

They discuss finding purpose and meaning in your work. For project professionals, a sense of purpose – that you're doing something not just for the bottom line, but also for the bigger impact that you can have – is where they get their motivation. 

Listen on for an exploration of what gets project professionals to leap out of bed in the morning. Is it feeling part of a project that leaves the world a better place? Is it about a sense of achievement or fulfilment? Is it working with people? Or is it the challenge of getting stuck into really knotty problems and finding a way around them?

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Sustainability in project management remains a hot topic – but it can be hard to get to grips with. Depending on your specific role and level of seniority, you may feel unable to influence the sustainability of your projects. Perhaps issues like net zero and social inequality feel remote from your day-to-day.

In this episode, however, we hear why sustainability isn’t just a top-down directive. It can be driven by project professionals at all levels through small, meaningful actions that influence outcomes and contribute to long-term positive change.

This episode brings together some of the highlights from the two-day APM Conference 2025.

Super early bird tickets for the 2026 APM Conference are available here.

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The APM Salary and Market Trends Survey 2025 takes a snapshot of life on the frontline of project management, comparing how pay, compensation, job satisfaction, opportunities and challenges have changed since the 2023 survey and giving insights on hot workplace topics, including artificial intelligence, sustainability, government projects, and diversity and inclusion. It also charts the confidence of the profession, providing a litmus test for any project manager interested in understanding which opportunities are ripe for the taking.

Listen on for the key takeaways, and the views of some of our experts who help tell the story behind the data.

Read the report at apm.org.uk/project-management-salary-survey-2025/ 

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Emma meets Dr Sara Hajikazemi and Professor Eunice Maytorena-Sanchez to discuss APM’s research report Projecting for the Future: Harmonising energy and environment.

This latest study provides insights into what the profession sees as the most important future trends that are likely to impact the way project managers practise their profession to identify what might need to change.

Read the report here.

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Emma meets Mike Bourne, professor of Business Performance at Cranfield University and Managing Editor of the APM Body of Knowledge 8th edition.

Mike says a lot has changed in the five years since the previous edition of the APM Body of Knowledge was published. The conversation focuses on what makes for a great project professional in 2025, how to get your head around systems thinking, how to approach AI and what sustainability really means for projects.

Buy the APM Body of Knowledge 8th edition here.

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Adam meets Dhruv Patel, an APM Honorary Fellow and Chief Executive and Founder of the Nisai Group. His company specialises in the delivery of online education services to learners around the world, particularly what it calls ‘non-traditional students’. 

Dhruv shares his experience of project delivery in the education sector, as well as the role of technology and some leadership lessons, too.

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Emma meets Paul Kidston and Carolyn Browning to discuss project controls. The pair are co-authors, along with others, of the new APM book, Project Controls in the 21st Century, available at apm.org.uk/book-shop/project-controls-in-the-21st-century/

Listen on to find out why project controllers should actually be called ‘truth tellers’ and how, in project controls, you need to have both an eye for the technical details and be able to step back and join the strategic dots. But what really matters is the ability to be adept at the people side of things, like communicating well, problem-solving and being a leader who creates the best kind of project culture.

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APM Chief Executive Professor Adam Boddison OBE is joined in conversation by Pierre Le Manh, President and CEO at the Project Management Institute (PMI). Headquartered in the US, PMI is a worldwide professional organisation representing the project profession.

Pierre is an experienced CEO who has worked across several sectors. He was born in France into a “family of entrepreneurs” and moved to the US 12 years ago. He has also spent time working in Paris and London. With Vietnamese heritage on his father’s side, Pierre shares how his multicultural background has given him an appreciation of the diverse strengths of different cultures across PMI’s international community of members.

Listen on to hear him chat with Adam about his career journey, growing the recognition of the project profession and why leaders need to stay calm in a crisis…

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Emma meets Ashleigh Hargrave, Interim Head of Strategy Projects and Management at the King Edward VI Foundation in Birmingham, and David Kitchiner, Head of the Portfolio Office at the RSPB, to find out what it’s like to be leading project management within these two charities, both of which are APM Corporate Partners. They provide a behind-the-scenes look at how project management is woven into the strategic and operational fabric of their organisations. They also give their top tips on project managing in the charity sector and how digital transformation is bringing great benefits.

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