Building and Enhancing your Career in Project Management

In this FREE course, Ricardo shares his learnings about what it takes to build and enhance your project management career.

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In this FREE Online course, Ricardo uses his experience in project management to share some of his thoughts on how to build and enhance your opportunities for a successful career in Project Management.

In 15 lessons covering 2 hours of course and supporting materials, Ricardo is honest and straightforward, explaining what is to be a project manager. He goes from the different names and titles to how he sees the three main "personas" in the project management career and how they relate to formal education, certification, and experience.

In the course, he also discusses your CV, the interview process, how to behave and promote yourself on social media, and how ethics and honesty shape your success.

The course was developed as part of his work to support his colleagues globally to find the same joy and happiness he found in his 25 years of experience as a project manager and advocate for the profession. His initiative started in 2020 with the release of the What Matters Series on his Youtube Channel, which includes this free online courses and other works like the scholarship program on his online school.

The course was recorded in English with subtitles in English, Brazilian Portuguese (Português do Brasil), Spanish (Español), Arabic (عربى) and Simplified Chinese (中文).

About the course

What is covered?

The full course has 15 lessons covering 2 hours of content.

At the end of the course you will be able to:

  • Understand what it means to be a project manager
  • Learn the difference between a project manager's job and other related jobs
  • Understand the three "personas" in project management
  • Learn how to craft your CV and highlight your profile based on your seniority in project management
  • Learn how to get the much-desired "experience"
  • Understand the relative value of certifications
  • Prepare yourself for the job interview
  • Understand the requirements to work internationally as a Project Manager
  • Reinforce the relevance of ethics and honesty to shape your career and success
Every lesson aims to be as short as possible. You will learn everything you need to know in the right amount of time at your own pace,

What people have to say the course

"These classes are clear and right on point to who wants to learn or remember how to deal with risks in project management. Ricardo is an iconic teacher and always has good insights."
Ricardo SantosLinkedin
"This course is simple, objective, and clear. Though the course is introductory, it is comprehensive on the topic, which is finally completed by the podcasts. It's a good point to start!"
Jonathan Tenório de LimaLinkedin
"Fast course with a lot of technical, practical, and applicable content. Thank you, Ricardo."
Jacqueline Annita DadianLinkedin


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Student group with one of them smiling.

Scholarship and Financial Aid

In mid-2022, Ricardo decided to create the scholarship and financial aid program by donating $10,000 to establish a fund to assist qualified students in pursuing the school's courses.

Eligible candidates can apply for the scholarship all year round. For those aiming to support other students, you can contribute to the fund by making a voluntary donation at the checkout page.

Know more about the program.

Course Curriculum


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"“Successful careers are not planned. They develop when people are prepared for opportunities because they know their strengths, their method of work, and their values."

- Peter F. Drucker
Managing Oneself

Your Instructor


Ricardo Viana Vargas, Ph.D.
Ricardo Viana Vargas, Ph.D.

Ricardo Vargas is an experienced leader in global operations, project management, business transformation and crisis management.

Specializing in implementing innovative global initiatives, capital projects and product development, Ricardo has directed dozens of projects across industries and continents, managing more than $20 billion over the past 25 years.

Ricardo shares his expertise and passion with millions of professionals around the globe through his “5 Minutes Podcast,” which he has hosted since 2007 and has reached 12 million views since its release. He has written 16 books on project management, risk and crisis management and transformation, which have been translated into seven languages and sold over half a million copies. His influence on the sector was affirmed when he received the highest recognition of the Project Management Institute, the PMI Fellow Award.

Ricardo is a seasoned board member who has participated in the Brazilian Institute of Corporate Governance (IBGC) board member program. He was the first Latin American Chairman of PMI worldwide, where he served for four years. He also serves on the advisory board of Yera, an Estonian startup dedicated to improving employee performance and engagement through technology and artificial intelligence.

His work as a venture capitalist and entrepreneur in artificial intelligence, blockchain, big data, chatbots and machine learning resulted in tools and products that have revolutionized how users bring agility and agile management into project management software.

More than two decades ago, he founded Macrosolutions, a consulting firm with international operations in energy, infrastructure, IT, oil and finance with dozens of clients globally.

Between 2016 and 2020, Ricardo directed the Brightline Initiative, a Project Management Institute think tank that brings together other leading global organizations into a coalition dedicated to helping executives bridge the expensive, unproductive gap between strategy design and delivery. Ricardo developed and presented a Coursera Online Course on “Bridging the Gap Between Strategy Design and Delivery,” viewed by more than 26,000 students around the globe.

Prior to his work with Brightline, Ricardo directed the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) Infrastructure and Project Management Group. Based in Copenhagen, Denmark and with operations in more than 120 countries, Ricardo and his team led more than 1,000 projects and $1.2 billion in refugee camps, rural roads, maternity clinics and housing efforts and managed the ESG program, responsible for the first sustainability report in the United Nations system. Following his time at the UN, he collaborated to document the lives of the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan and create the treatment for the documentary “Zaatari: Memories of the Labyrinth,” a German-Brazilian production that showcases the tragedy of war and the men, women and children seeking a better life.

Ricardo started his career with two partners founding AeC in Brazil, where he was responsible for the services and training areas. A company with three initial employees grew and diversified the business from traditional software sales into outsourcing, project management, call center and IT services, becoming one of the leading technology groups in the country. When Ricardo decided to leave to develop his work internationally, the AeC Group had 1,500 employees. Today, Ricardo continues to appreciate the success of his two former partners, who are now leading the current 25,000 employees.

He holds a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Federal Fluminense University in Brazil, an undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering and a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering from the Federal University of Minas Gerais in Brazil.

Ricardo has received the most relevant international accreditations and credentials in governance, sustainability and also in project, risk and change management. He has also earned accolades ranging from the PMI Fellow and Distinguished Award to the IPMA Achievement Award and the AACE Total Quality Management Award for his leadership in the field.

A dual citizen of Brazil and Portugal, when he’s not traveling the world to share his passion for strategic transformation, Ricardo enjoys gardening and cooking with his wife in their sunny place in Portugal.


Frequently Asked Questions


Is this course FREE for a period of time?
No. This course is FREE and will stay free until it exists. The course was not created aiming to be a source of revenue but as a contribution to the colleagues looking for insights into the project management career.
Will I get a Certificate?
Yes. If you watch all the lessons and do all the assessments (regardless of your score), you will get a certificate of completion. The certificate/badge does not expire and you can leverage your credential in more than 100 social networks, including, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Your credential uses Blockchain technology to reduce fraud and increase third-party confidence. Your recorded credential is sealed in a digital ledger to prove its authenticity.

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