The Asociación Española de Ingeniería de Proyectos (AEIPRO) is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1992 with the aim of developing and promoting the Project Management profession. AEIPRO’s main objectives are:

• To provide a platform for project managers to network and share information
• To provide up to date information and extensive networking opportunities
• To actively promote the Project Management profession
• To enable project managers to share ideas and take active part in the progression of project management
• To identify and define the needs that affect project management performance
• To play a leading role in decision making on issues related with Project Management

Why an Association like AEIPRO? Our member organizations –services, manufacturing or process enterprises- are actively engaged in project development. Either in internal projects –by co-ordinating their own resources or outsourcing for the production of new products/systems- or providing support for the management of external projects, sponsored by societies which lack the technical resources required for project management.

The increasing number of projects in the fields of product design, business management, software engineering, industrial engineering and development, among others, demands better qualified professionals in project management and technically qualified practitioners with extended experience in decision making who are willing to share as well as to gain new knowledge and who possess valuable skills in team leading.

Similarly to Medicine, where the professionalization of doctors greatly influences the organization of health strategies and practices, and consequently the society’s health development, we have to tend to professionalize the activity that affects us all, i.e. that of Engineering Projects, not only in the Universities which form engineers but also in the enterprises that manage projects and in the society that demands our services.

As in the case of lawyers, being a professional in project management involves acting in wider forums where it is necessary to attend, present and discuss experiences. A professional association in project management is primarily a meeting point for project management experts and professionals.

The association provides a platform to participate in national and international events. We co-operate and share information with other practitioners and this co-operation is based on a common core of points of interest, goals and potentials among the members of our association as well as other related organizations with which AEIPRO keeps close contact as it is a member association of IPMA ( International Project Management Association ) and ICEC ( International Cost Engineering Council ) and has signed a collaboration agreement with PMI ( Project Management Institute ).

Through the association, project management professionals, both individually or as members of an enterprise, are acquainted with the need for continuing improvement and updating (where and how they can update their knowledge and further training).

Additionally, the association provides a more uniform understanding of the project management competences. The credential in Project Management is certified with an external certification granted by a non profit organization through a board of qualified personnel in project management that assesses the candidates’ knowledge, personal skills and dedication to the profession.

The association also encourages its members to present their professional experiences in symposia and conferences. In our everyday work generally we do not adequately document our activities. We have difficulties in presenting what we did in a particular project two years ago. Elaborating a presentation or paper is a good opportunity to reflect on the topic, to gather information and analyze it in detail. In a society so accelerated as this is, it is essential to reflect on our past experience and use this information as feedback for future action. It is important to alternate action with reflection on the already done. To this reflection may contribute what comes from our environment, the experiences of other professionals and the opinions that our ideas generate in our colleagues.