Author: Wolfgang Steindl, PMP 
In an event that was nothing short of stellar, PMI Switzerland, in collaboration with the SIX Project Management Community, hosted an enlightening session that took its participants on a virtual odyssey to the red planet, Mars.
The event, moderated by the duo Wolfgang Steindl and Sara Cruz Meirinho from SIX Group, brought together 24 mid-career and senior managers to spacewalk into the burgeoning field of AI and its implications for project management.
The session kicked off with Jonas Epp, the SIX AI community lead, who outlined the mission and mandate of the SIX AI community, emphasizing the importance of knowledge sharing and business alignment in AI. The community’s ambitions for 2024, including boosting ‘AI Fitness Level’ among employees and keeping pace with Microsoft’s emerging AI innovations, set a forward-thinking tone for the event.
Adi Muslic, a Citizen Developer and Organizational Transformation Practitioner, took the stage next, to discuss PMI’s role in AI and the evolving responsibilities of project managers in an automated world. Through the PMIxAI Community and Events, alongside AI online courses and PMI Infinity, his intervention highlighted the educational resources available for professionals seeking to adapt to this shift.
The third speaker, Joachim Dehais, first engaged the audience with live polls on AI tool usage, and its impact on their lives, fostering a dynamic discussion on practical experiences with AI tools.
The highlight of the event was the interactive workshop, where participants were grouped into teams on a mission to Mars. The scenario, set in 2030, challenged teams to utilize their expertise and AI tools to establish a research base on Mars, focusing on project scope, stakeholder management, and risk response.
As the event drew to a close, Sara Cruz provided a glimpse into the upcoming events of PMI Switzerland and extended an invitation to join the community as volunteers. The event concluded with an Apéro, where our deserving astronauts engaged in lively discussion about AI’s role in their work, and took the opportunity to network.
A personal highlight was witnessing the stages of team development - forming, storming, norming, and performing - unfold in a remarkably short time, from the beginning of the workshop until our safe return from our interstellar endeavour.
Stay tuned for more updates and join us in our next adventure at PMI Switzerland!