Leading complex projects sprint

Enhance your skills in navigating complexity and driving success in large-scale projects across various sectors.

Launching in 2025

John Grill Institute for Project Leadership + Infrastructure New South Wales
A collage-style illustration showing three people collaborating around a laptop, with visual elements including a crane, wind turbine, and city skyline connected by red lines.
Learn from leading thinkers and industry experts at the University of Sydney and Infrastructure NSW.
Develop practical strategies for leading complex, multifaceted projects in today’s dynamic business environment.
Receive a University of Sydney digital badge, your personal complex project leadership credential.

Rigorous. Practical. Transformational.

Equip yourself with the knowledge and tools to lead high-impact projects that create long-term value for your organisation and community.

Analyse complex project phases and apply leadership approaches to each stage.

Design effective governance

Implement governance mechanisms that drive project success in multifaceted environments.

Decode stakeholder ecosystems

Build strategies to navigate tensions and influence key players within complex project landscapes.

Create lasting impact

Develop project success measures for long-term value creation and social impact.

Meet your sprint leaders.

Learn from leading thinkers and industry experts at the University of Sydney.

Jennifer Whyte

Professor Jennifer Whyte

Director, John Grill Institute for Project Leadership
The University of Sydney

Natalie Smith

Associate Professor Natalie Smith

Associate Professor of Practice
The University of Sydney

Sprint program.

The sprint has four self-paced modules and three online live sessions designed to fit in any busy schedule.

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri
Onboarding
and welcome
Live session 1
introduction
Module 1
available
Module 2
available
Networking event
(optional)
Live session 2
check-in
Module 3
available
Module 4
available
Networking event
(optional)
Live session 3
workshop

Have more questions?

We’ve compiled a list of commonly asked questions to help you decide if sprinting is right for you! If you still have questions however, send an email to executive.plus@sydney.edu.au

Each module will include around 30-40 minutes of essential video content, and then extra content (such as readings, podcasts, additional videos) if you wish to extend yourself. Workbook activities are comprised of reflective questions that will help you consolidate your learning from the videos and apply this learning to organisations you are familiar with. They should require no more than an hour’s thinking. Workbooks are not assessed, they’re designed to give you chunky questions to think about.

Live sessions will run for around 90 minutes, with additional networking and question time afterwards if you choose to stick around.

Additional activities, such as reading, conversations, and bonus content will allow you to dive deeper into the topic. You’ll have access to the modules after the sprint is complete, so you can always return to the extension activities later.

That’s not a problem – all live events will be recorded and made available in our platform so you can watch them whenever you want. Of course, if you want to network with your cohort outside of the Slack chats, it’s best to show up for the live event!

We’ve designed the course to be time zone-friendly, so you will be able to complete it when it suits you. The three live sessions are recorded, and the Slack channels are open at all times for discussion – your cohort will be able to reply when they are next online!

You’ll be completing your sprint with a group of participants, so you’ll have a unique channel on Slack to communicate with each other. We really want to build a community during each sprint, so this will allow you to meet others, share ideas, ask questions, and hopefully stay in touch after the sprint is finished.

To keep it simple, we’re using widely available, free platforms. The workbook and assignment use Microsoft Word and Powerpoint. Live sessions happen on Zoom. Group chat can be accessed by Slack. Video content is hosted online in the sprint hub.

No! We’ve designed the modules to be engaging and you can complete them at your own pace. They should be easy to complete on the day they are released and fit in with your other work commitments. Workbook activities will require no more than an hour’s thinking, and they help build towards your final project.

Not at all! We’ve designed it to draw on the work you complete in your workbook and throughout the modules and to be completed within a week of finishing the sprint. We want you to be able to complete this work individually, and without interrupting your working week.

The final project will become available halfway through the sprint. The project focuses on your own experience and an organisation you work for or with, so you may find yourself so interested that you want to invest more time working on it!

Yes! After our sprint leaders have had a chance to review your final project, your microcredential badge will be issued by the University of Sydney. Your badge is issued using the Accredible platform, and is stored securely and verified on the Bitcoin blockchain.

There is a discount for alumni! We have partnered with the Centre for Continuing Education to offer a discounted price of $995 for the brand leadership sprint (normally $1,195). Complete this form to confirm your discount.

We’re happy to discuss options for group sign-ups and bespoke offerings of the sprint. Get in touch to learn more.