Author: Marketing Manager at STS The Project Management Training Company
5 Things you probably didn’t know about SimulTrain®
On the International Project Management Day 2025, PMI Switzerland Chapter and STS (https://www.sts.ch) invite you to the Ultimate PM Challenge. After Zurich, Basel, and Lausanne, the spotlight now also shines on Geneva.
The secret ingredient of the Ultimate PM Challenge is SimulTrain®. So let’s uncover 5 things you may not know about it and that will make this competition unlike any other:
1. It compresses months of project life into hours
In SimulTrain®, a team of 3–4 participants steps into the role of project managers running a mid-size project. The simulation runs in accelerated mode, so within just a few hours you’ll face the kind of decisions, risks, and conflicts that usually unfold over months.
2. It’s about more than time, cost, and scope
Real projects succeed, or fail, also because of people. That’s why SimulTrain® forces you to consider motivation, quality, and stakeholder satisfaction alongside traditional KPIs. You can deliver on budget and on time, yet still fail if your team disengages.
3. Every decision has visible consequences
Should you cut scope, delay a task, or reduce quality? SimulTrain® instantly shows you how each decision affects project KPIs. You experience the cause-and-effect chain in real time, watching how small choices cascade across deadlines, budget, risks, and team morale.
4. It makes stress part of the learning
SimulTrain® is not only a theory exercise. It recreates the pressure of real project life: conflicts within the team, sudden scope changes, disappearing resources, and unexpected risks. Participants learn not just how to plan, but how to adapt, lead, and make tough calls under stress.
5. It builds skills you can’t get from books
Beyond technical PM competencies — planning, monitoring, risk management — SimulTrain® trains behavioral skills: leading teams, resolving conflicts, making accountability visible, and communicating clearly under pressure. The debriefing sessions are equally powerful, comparing strategies, analysing outcomes, and turning mistakes into lasting learning.
Why it matters
SimulTrain® has been successfully used by universities, training providers, and corporations in over 50 countries. It’s available in 20+ languages and comes with many different scenarios.
Experience all this live at the Ultimate PM Challenge on IPM Day 2025.
- For Basel: https://pmi-switzerland.ch/events/events-list/pmi-evening-event/2025-29-10-ipmd25-basel
- For Geneva: https://pmi-switzerland.ch/events/pmi-evening-event/2025-29-10-ipmd25-geneva
- For Lausanne: https://pmi-switzerland.ch/events/events-list/pmi-evening-event/2025-29-10-ipmd25-lausanne
- For Zurich: https://pmi-switzerland.ch/events/events-list/pmi-evening-event/2025-29-10-ipmd25-zurich
We look forward to seeing you there!
Zara Groh
Marketing Manager – STS The Project Management Training Company