Sights Set on Moving Up into Management
Building Skills for Leadership
Kruti Halvadia already had solid technical skills and experience in data management. Now she’s ready to advance into career roles managing projects and people.
Kruti Halvadia (M.S. Project Management ’25)With nine years of experience in data management at consulting firms such as Cognizant, Capgemini, and KPMG, Kruti Halvadia (M.S. Project Management ’25) was moving up in her career.
In addition to applying her technical skills in data management and data governance, she says, “I was involved in a lot of presentations and client interactions, and I was really interested in doing that.”
Even though Halvadia had been promoted to an assistant manager role, she decided it was time to look at graduate school.
“I started to see the gap,” says Halvadia. “In the future I want to still work in data management—but in management of projects that are undertaken by an organization. What are the leadership skills that I need to acquire? What are the problem-solving and critical-thinking abilities that I need in order to become a good leader, manager, and strategic thinker?”
She chose the M.S. in Project Management program at Stuart School of Business because the curriculum aligned with what she was looking for and because of Illinois Tech’s reputation and location in Chicago.
“The program faculty have inspired and motivated me with the work that they have done in industry,” Halvadia says. “For all of the project management concepts and theories, there are tools out there that implement them, so you’ve got to know the tools because industries are using them to streamline their project management.”
Several courses in the program include case studies and hands-on projects in which students use project management tools that are available in the market, she notes. The program’s capstone course offered opportunities for students to interview senior managers at companies to find out how project management works within their organizations. Another highlight for Halvadia was a course in strategic management that drew on real-world corporate examples to learn about product marketing, finance, and managerial decision-making.
As an added benefit, she says, several faculty have strong connections to the Chicago area chapter of the Project Management Institute, a global organization for project management professionals, which has opened up opportunities for professional development and networking with local industry professionals.
“I always wanted a job where I managed the projects and the people,” Halvadia says, “and this program has broadened the spectrum [of my job search]. Now I feel more confident in applying for managerial positions, and I’m looking for roles such as data governance manager or data project manager.”
Learn more about the M.S. in Project Management program.