Project management
Project Management for Engineers
Learn project management as an engineer: plan a project, track cost and schedule, manage risk and change, and close it well.
Project Management for Engineers is a free, self-paced online course from EDWartens for engineers taking on projects to run: site, design, plant and construction engineers. It has 9 modules and takes about 8.4 hours, with written notes, a practice task per module, a practical project and a final assessment of 15 questions (pass mark 60%). Learning costs nothing and needs only a free account. The optional EDWartens Certificate of Completion, verifiable by code, is a one-off US$23.99 for you; it is not a vendor credential. Updated 1 November 2026.
- Free
- Beginner
- 8.4 hours
- Self-paced
- Certificate optional
No card, no trial. The course is free for good. Certificate US$23.99, optional.
- Who it is for
- Engineers taking on projects to run: site, design, plant and construction engineers
- Jobs
- Roles that use this skill: project coordinator, project engineer, planner and delivery manager. No course guarantees a job.
- Tools
- A spreadsheet. Primavera P6 or Microsoft Project are useful but not required; the schedule exercises can be done by hand or in a spreadsheet. Hardware: none.
- Updated
After this course you can
By the end you will be able to:
- Write a project charter with SMART objectives
- Build a WBS and calculate the critical path and float
- Calculate and interpret earned value measures
- Run a risk register using expected monetary values
- Choose a contract type and run change control
Who it is for, and what you need first
Who it is for
Engineers taking on projects to run: site, design, plant and construction engineers.
Level: Beginner. Beginner. For engineers and engineering graduates moving into project roles. Comfort with basic arithmetic and a spreadsheet is enough; no project management experience is needed.
What you need
Software: A spreadsheet. Primavera P6 or Microsoft Project are useful but not required; the schedule exercises can be done by hand or in a spreadsheet..
Hardware: None.. What to download, and how.
How this course works
Watch the lessons
Short video lessons, one module at a time, at your own pace.
Read the notes
Open the Reading tab for the written notes and diagrams of the module.
Check yourself
Answer the questions to see what stuck before you move on.
Final assessment
Pass the final once you have been through the modules.
Certificate, if you want oneOptional
Optional, with a page anyone can use to verify it.
What you learn
9 modules in order, at your own pace. 8.4 hours of video lessons, with written notes and a practice task in each module.
- 1What a project manager actually does11m
- 2Initiation: goals, feasibility and stakeholders50m
- 3Planning: WBS, schedules and the critical path52m
- 4Budgets and earned value48m
- 5Risk management45m
- 6Contracts, change and scope creep36m
- 7Agile and Scrum for engineering teams33m
- 8Closing a project, and AI in project management47m
Show the other 1 modules
- 9Final Assessment
Software you need
What to download, where from, what it costs and how to install it. Every link goes to the maker's own site, never a mirror.
Nothing to install
A spreadsheet is enough; the schedule exercises can be done by hand. Primavera P6 and Microsoft Project are useful but not required.
Show what to download (2 tools)
Optional
Useful, not needed to finish the course.
- 01Free
LibreOffice
The Document Foundation
- Runs on
- Windows 10 or 11, macOS 11 or newer (Intel or Apple silicon), Linux
- Account
- None needed
- Size
- up to 1.5 GB of disk space on Windows
LibreOffice is free, open-source software under the Mozilla Public License 2.0, for any use including business. Calc is its spreadsheet.
Steps
- 1.Open the LibreOffice download page.
- 2.Check the page has picked your operating system, then select Download.
- 3.Run the installer (administrator rights are needed on Windows).
- 4.Start LibreOffice Calc for spreadsheet work.
- 5.Save as .xlsx if you need to share files with Excel users.
- Choose the latest main version unless your organisation asks for the older, more conservative release.
Official download pagelibreoffice.org - 02Free
ProjectLibre Desktop
ProjectLibre
- Runs on
- Windows, macOS and Linux
- Account
- None needed
ProjectLibre Desktop is free and open-source project scheduling software with no subscription. It opens Microsoft Project .mpp files and can import Primavera P6 files. The separate ProjectLibre Cloud product for teams is paid.
Steps
- 1.Open the ProjectLibre Desktop page.
- 2.Select Download ProjectLibre Free; the file downloads from ProjectLibre's SourceForge project.
- 3.Run the installer for your operating system.
- 4.Start ProjectLibre and create a new project, or open the course's .mpp file.
- 5.Build the task list, links and resources, then view the Gantt chart and critical path.
- Use it to practise the scheduling ideas from Microsoft Project or Primavera P6 lessons; menus and some features differ.
Official download pageprojectlibre.com
Checked against each maker's own page on 27 September 2026. Trial lengths and editions change; the maker's page is the final word.
What you practise
Course project, about 8 hours
Running a 750 kWp rooftop solar project for a manufacturer: charter, schedule, risk register, change notice and status report
Manage the delivery of a rooftop solar plant at an auto-components factory as the client's project manager. Write the charter, build the schedule and find the critical path, keep the risk register and process a change that arises on site. Report status at week 10 with earned value. The sample pack shows each document with invented figures.
- 5documents in the pack
- 5steps to follow
- 5things to hand in
- 8 hof work, at your pace
- PlanProject charter: 750 kWp rooftop solar plant
- RegisterSchedule and critical path: rooftop solar plant
- Risk registerRisk register: rooftop solar plant
- Change noticeChange notice: strengthening of shed 2 roof beams
- ReportStatus report: week 10
The project is optional practice. The certificate needs only the modules and the final assessment.
After the course, your next step
Show what you can do, then keep going in the same field.
A certificate you can verify
Finish the modules and pass the final assessment (15 questions, pass mark 60%) and you can add a certificate with a public verification page. One-off, US$23.99 for you. It is not a vendor credential.
Want a free certificate? Do the matching Free internship: 4 weeks, nothing to buy, with a free certificate of completion.
Project work you can show
Weekly briefs and a work record, online. Pick the internship that fits you. Finish weeks 1 to 4 and the final, then claim a free Internship Completion Certificate with your real dates and study hours, and a QR code anyone can scan to verify it. Training, not employment.
Find an internshipMore free courses
Roles that use this skill
- Project coordinator
- Project engineer
- Planner
- Delivery manager
These are the kinds of roles where the skill is used. We make no promise of a job or an interview.
Plain notes
- Free: the whole course, the notes, the practice tasks, the final assessment and support from practising engineers.
- Paid, and optional: the course certificate, and the Engineer-verified internship (the Free internship costs nothing).
- No job promise: the course teaches a skill. It does not place you in a job.
- Lessons by: Grow with Google, Planning Engineer FZE, NPTEL IIT Roorkee, IIT Roorkee July 2018. Independent creators; the lessons stream from their own channels. EDWartens wrote the study plan, notes, practice tasks and assessments.
Grow with Google · Planning Engineer FZE · NPTEL IIT Roorkee · IIT Roorkee July 2018. If you are one of these creators and want a lesson removed or credited differently, write to info@edwartens.com.
Why learn with EDWartens
What you get with this course, and what comes after it.
- Free from the first lesson to the final assessment.
- Video lessons with written notes and a project.
- An optional certificate that anyone can verify online.
- Free internships to keep practising afterwards.
Common questions
Who is the Project Management for Engineers course for?
Engineers and engineering graduates taking on projects to run: site, design, plant, electrical and construction engineers. No project management experience is needed.
Is this the Google Project Management Certificate or a PMP course?
No. It uses some free public lessons from the Google Project Management Certificate, credited on each module, alongside construction lessons from Planning Engineer FZE and NPTEL lectures from IIT Roorkee. It is not affiliated with Google, PMI, Oracle or FIDIC and does not lead to their certificates, though it covers much of the same ground as their introductory material.
Do I need Primavera P6 or Microsoft Project?
No. The course shows how to read a P6 schedule, and every calculation can be done by hand or in a spreadsheet.
Does it cover construction contracts and FIDIC?
Yes, at an introductory level: contract types and who carries which risk, change control, the FIDIC books and the 28-day claim notice under the 2017 editions.
Is the Project Management for Engineers course really free?
Yes. Every module, the notes, the project and the final assessment. The only paid item is the certificate, if you want it.
What certificate does the Project Management for Engineers course give?
An EDWartens Certificate of Completion, issued when you pass the final assessment, with a number anyone can verify on our site. It is not a PMP, CAPM or Google certificate.
How long does the Project Management for Engineers course take?
About 5.5 hours of video lessons, plus notes and practice questions, taken at your own pace. The optional project takes about 8 hours more.
What is the project in the Project Management for Engineers course?
You act as the client's project manager for a 750 kWp rooftop solar plant at a factory: a charter, a schedule with the critical path, a risk register, a change notice and a week-10 status report with earned value. A complete sample pack shows each document.
What topics does the Project Management for Engineers course cover, module by module?
The Project Management for Engineers course has 9 modules. It opens with "What a project manager actually does", goes through "Initiation: goals, feasibility and stakeholders", "Budgets and earned value", "Contracts, change and scope creep" and "Closing a project, and AI in project management" and ends with "Final Assessment". The full list with minutes is under "What you learn" on this page.
What can I do after the Project Management for Engineers course?
After the Project Management for Engineers course: Explain what a project manager does and how it differs from engineering work; Write a project charter with SMART objectives, feasibility and a stakeholder map; Build a WBS and calculate the critical path and float. These are the practical outcomes the course is written around, and the final assessment of 15 questions checks them.
What software and hardware do I need for the Project Management for Engineers course, and does it cost anything?
For the Project Management for Engineers course, software: A spreadsheet. Primavera P6 or Microsoft Project are useful but not required; the schedule exercises can be done by hand or in a spreadsheet. Hardware: none. The course itself is free.
Is the Project Management for Engineers course suitable for me, and what level is it?
Project Management for Engineers is rated beginner. Beginner. For engineers and engineering graduates moving into project roles. Comfort with basic arithmetic and a spreadsheet is enough; no project management experience is needed. It is written for engineers taking on projects to run: site, design, plant and construction engineers, and takes about 8.4 hours at your own pace.
Which jobs use the skills from the Project Management for Engineers course?
Skills from the Project Management for Engineers course (for example: explain what a project manager does and how it differs from engineering work) are used in roles such as project coordinator, project engineer, planner and delivery manager, and in project manager work. The course gives you practical evidence of the skill; it does not promise a job, and employers decide on experience and interview.
Start free today
Project Management for Engineers, at your own pace. Add the certificate only if you want one.