Professional Edge Seminar Series
Practical, Timely, Tailored, Free
Free one-hour professional development seminars
Professional Edge offers complimentary one-hour professional development sessions that allow participants to glean relevant and actionable insight from KU’s graduate faculty. Based on their extensive experience in a variety of fields, the faculty present engaging content on pertinent and on-point topics.
The program aims to support local, state, and global businesses by providing virtual development opportunities that are open for anyone to register, including both individuals and employee groups.
Companies have the option to schedule a private event for their employees. Choose from a variety of available topics or request your own. The Professional Edge sessions are generally delivered virtually, but in-person sessions are also available for corporate events.
To schedule a corporate event, contact Julie Myer, Ph.D., at proedge@ku.edu.
Professional Edge seminars are available in these areas
- Cybersecurity, information technology, and software engineering and management
- Professional management and communication
- Project management
- Engineering management and technical leadership
- Environment, soils, and climate
- Geology and hydrogeology
Upcoming webinars
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Trauma-Informed Workplaces | March 27, 2026 | 11:00 am
Join KU Professor of the Practice Misty Campbell to learn more about trauma in the workplace. Trauma is deeply prevalent in our society, shaping how people show up in work and community life. Drawing from lessons in criminal justice, restorative frameworks, and empowerment-based strategies, this training equips leaders with practical ways to apply trauma-responsive practices in daily leadership. The focus is on building team cohesion, improving retention, and strengthening leadership development all while creating supportive environments for all employees, including those with previous justice involvement.
In this session, attendees will:
- Recognize the widespread impact of trauma and its implications for workplace culture and leadership.
- Apply trauma-responsive and empowerment-based strategies to daily leadership practices to improve team cohesion, retention, and development.
- Develop supportive environments that foster inclusion and growth for employees with previous justice involvement.
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Project Management Under Pressure: When Should You Go Red? | April 30, 2026 | 11:00 am
Join KU Professor of the Practice Douglass Smith, Ph.D., M.P.M., M.B.A., PMP to discuss ethical escalation, executive trust, and leadership judgment in high-stakes environments.
In project management, some of the most difficult decisions are not technical. They involve transparency, timing, and professional courage. When performance begins to decline, leaders must decide whether to escalate concerns immediately or attempt internal recovery while maintaining stakeholder confidence.
This session explores escalation discipline, executive communication strategy, and the long-term credibility implications of reporting decisions. Participants will engage in structured discussion and a guided scenario to examine how leadership choices influence governance outcomes.
By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:
• Evaluate appropriate escalation timing within formal governance structures.
• Assess how reporting decisions influence executive trust and stakeholder confidence.
• Strengthen transparency practices without undermining organizational stability.
• Apply structured judgment when navigating political and performance pressure.
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Quiet Leadership| May 21, 2026 | 12:00 pm
Join KU Engineering Management Program Director and Professor of the Practice, Rick Cameron, Ph.D., PE, CPEM for this important leadership topic.
Those with quiet personality types (such as introverts) can be highly effective leaders when they embrace their natural strengths and focus on empowering others, building trust, and achieving meaningful results rather than seeking attention or dominance. This quiet leadership style emphasizes listening, reflection, and thoughtful decision-making rather than loud or dominant behavior.
Quiet leaders influence others through preparation, empathy, and results, creating environments where collaboration, trust, and psychological safety are encouraged. However, quiet leaders face challenges, such as being overlooked in extrovert-focused environments, reluctance to self-promote, and fatigue from constant interaction. An important takeaway is that quiet personality types can lead effectively without pretending to be extroverts.