THEORY AND PRACTICE IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT: A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH

This paper introduces an approach currently being implemented in the Department of Architecture and Urban Planning at College of Engineering in Qatar University. It describes the primary components of the theoretical research including the course program in Construction and Project Management, its integration with other courses, the cooperation required to support the interdisciplinary emphasis, and the establishment of an innovative academic/industry partnership to provide a state-of-theart physical and technological infrastructure to support the program goals. The justification and benefits of the step from implicit to explicit theory are discussed based on the influential work of recent studies and the developments of the research approach of the multidisciplinary collaborative project. It is contended that much, although surely not all, of the present implicit theory, can already be pinpointed, and the associated with counter-productive impacts, explained and empirically recognized. Despite the fact that previous studies on interaction between theory and practice offered various degrees of value to the research field, some limitations and debates remain awaiting further investigation, as do the significant changes associated with the construction industry and project management. The research concludes that the efficiency of interaction between theory and practice in the construction industry needs to be further examined, and a possible research method is also proposed for carrying out future studies.