February of 2020 began much like any other month. It didn’t last. Seemingly in a matter of days, everything changed as the world experienced a convergence of economic, humanitarian, and health crises with the rise of COVID-19.

Precautions about handwashing and covering coughs turned into recommendations for cleaner surfaces and social distancing. As the numbers of confirmed cases of COVID-19 grew, the world found itself turned upside down.

Let's face it, 2020 hasn't been what so many of us expected it to be when it started.

We have found ourselves in daily awe of the way that so many amazing people who have carried on with such hope and positivity, despite what's happening around them and to them. During the sadness and uncertainty of the last ten months, it seems like what's kept most of us going at times, has been looking to the future and the things we can't wait to do and be a part of. The vaccine we thought we would never see is now rolling out across the nation, we reached the never-ending end and are looking forward with new optimism to the future. 

Now that a new year is about to start, it is time to take a step back and reflect on what we have learned from the experience: what went well, what could have been done better, and what we can do going forward.

For the PMI, the end of 2020 means we have just successfully completed our Autumn series of exams. The fluidity of the pandemic, and the lack of understanding surrounding it, meant information changed, sometimes daily, and we were not quick enough in some cases to get information out to learners in the manner we always have done, as things became more understandable then this process became better. 

Equally, a transitional move from delivering forty-four years of paper-based exams to a 100% completely online model, in a short few months, was very challenging, for both the PMI and for all PMI learners. Thankfully, due to the efforts of the team here at the PMI, the majority of this transition went very smoothly and efficiently and has set us a direction for the delivery of exams in 2021 and further.  With the successes gained, and improvements we have made, combined with the introduction of new qualifications in 2021, we can really look forward to the start of the year with confidence, and to improve what we do and the speed at which we do it.

Only time will tell the short-term and long-term consequences of a defining historical event such as the COVID-19 pandemic, but one thing is certain: it has left a mark on the education sector as a whole, and for organisations like the PMI who operate within it.