PgMP® Exam Prep with a practising PgMP. Live online, small group, next cohort forming
Program managers run the projects nobody else can. The PgMP is PMI's proof of it. Twelve live sessions in English, up to 5 people, panel-review application support and three months of mentoring after the course. 1,090 EUR. Start date is set once the group is formed: register to reserve a seat.
Alina Piddubna
PgMP holders worldwide (PMI, 2025)
of the exam is Program Life Cycle Management
participants, maximum
months of mentoring after the course
Who this course is for
You run programs today
several related projects, one set of benefits, sponsors above you
You hold PMP® and have outgrown it
the next credential in the PMI hierarchy that actually matches your job
You lead a PMO or transformation office
and want the vocabulary and structure to defend program decisions at board level
You have 4+ years of program management experience
and know that documenting it for PMI is the hard part
You want a trainer who does the job
not a slide reader: a practising PgMP and PfMP
You work with EU or international stakeholders
and need a credential they recognise without explanation
This course is NOT for you if
You have never managed more than one project at a time You have fewer than 4 years of PM experience You want a self-study video course without live work
Why we created this course
What you'll be able to do
Concrete skills and outcomes you'll walk away with
Pass the PgMP® panel review and exam
Turn a strategy into a program charter, roadmap and benefits plan sponsors will sign
Run program governance so decisions happen at the right level, on time
Track and defend benefits realization, not just delivery status
Hold a credential fewer than 6,000 people have, verified on Credly
Speak to boards and sponsors in program language, not project language
Multiple sessions. One coherent program.
INTRODUCTION AND FOUNDATIONS (Session 1)
Project, program, portfolio: what actually changes at each level
The PgMP credential: eligibility, panel review, exam structure, ECO March 2024
The Standard for Program Management 5th edition: performance domains and lexicon
How PgMP questions are built and why 44% of them are life-cycle scenarios
Study plan for the 6 weeks, LMS and simulator walkthrough
Application checklist: how PMI wants your program experience described
- Project, program, portfolio: what actually changes at each level
- The PgMP credential: eligibility, panel review, exam structure, ECO March 2024
- The Standard for Program Management 5th edition: performance domains and lexicon
- How PgMP questions are built and why 44% of them are life-cycle scenarios
- Study plan for the 6 weeks, LMS and simulator walkthrough
- Application checklist: how PMI wants your program experience described
Why learn with INSTAR and this trainer
Led by a practising program manager
Alina Piddubna manages a portfolio of advanced-technology programs today. Every ECO task gets a real example: a real sponsor, a real escalation, a real trade-off.
A rare dual PgMP + PfMP credential
The exam keeps asking where the program ends and the portfolio begins. Your trainer lives on both sides of that line every day.
Panel-review application support
The PgMP application is where most candidates lose. We review your program descriptions against the ECO before you submit them.
3 months of mentoring after the course
6 group sessions every two weeks plus chat access to the trainer until you sit the exam.
200-question PgMP simulator on INSTAR's LMS
Scenario questions mapped to the ECO with the reasoning behind every answer, plus timed full-length runs. You will know you are ready before you book the exam.
Small group, real attention
Up to 5 people. Everyone's application gets read, everyone's questions get answered.
Who leads the course
Alina Piddubna
Principal management consultant · Director
Alina is one of very few practitioners worldwide to hold both PfMP® and PgMP®. She has managed portfolios of advanced-technology programs since 2021, where governance, benefits realization under uncertainty, and organization-level stakeholder management are daily work. She also holds PMP, PMI-CPMAI, PMI-ACP, PMO-CP, PSM, CLSSGB, SAFe Practice Consultant, AWS certification, and a PhD in Economics. Alina is a contributor to the PMBOK Guide 8th edition, a speaker and blogger on management and advanced technology topics. Alina has led project, program and portfolio work since 2008. She headed the enterprise PMO at Raiffeisen Bank Aval (2015-2016) and the PMO at Alfa-Bank Ukraine (2017-2018), where she ran the bank's project portfolio and the merger program with Ukrsotsbank. She wrote INSTAR's project health assessment and project management maturity diagnostic. As a trainer she has delivered more than 50 corporate and open courses on project, program and portfolio management, PMO design, and PMP, PMI-ACP and CAPM preparation. She was Vice-President for member services of the PMI Ukraine Chapter in 2018-2020, is a PMI Authorized Instructor, and holds a PhD in Economics from Kharkiv National University of Economics (2006). Nine years of experience in project portfolio management, building project offices and developing project management competencies, and a trainer and consultant on corporate project management systems and organizational change since 2015. Author of INSTAR's project health assessment method, training programs, workshops and project management games, and an active volunteer of the PMI Ukraine Chapter. Focus areas: project management systems for financial, IT and non-profit organizations, portfolio processes, recovery of problem projects, PMO design, and coaching for new project managers.
Graduate results and what they say
of INSTAR PMP® prep graduates pass on the first attempt
PgMP cohorts are small and PgMP holders are few, so the voices below come from graduates of our other PMI certification cohorts, taught by the same trainer.
"Everything was laconically, clear and just excellent"
"Really good instructor who helped to master the course on professional level and study PMBOK in lively manner"
"Exciting news — I have officially passed the PMP certification exam! My journey started back in 2023 when I joined the business analysis team at KnowledgeMap under the mentorship of Anatolii Savin. That was the beginning of my preparation for certification and an incredible experience working with one of the best project managers in Ukraine, a person who has made a huge contribution to the development of project management in our country. A huge thank you to Anatolii Savin from KnowledgeMap and Natalia Starynska, PMP from InStar for their invaluable support in my preparation! Your expertise, guidance, and dedication made this possible. I also want to express my gratitude to my team at National Bank of Ukraine, who have always supported me on this journey. Passing the PMP exam is not just a personal achievement—it's a step forward in contributing to the growth of project management practices in Ukraine. To those who are on their way to PMP — keep going, it’s absolutely worth it! 🚀"
"I am thrilled to share that after months of intense mental fitness, I have officially earned my Project Management Professional (PMP) certification! 🎉 They say experience teaches you how to handle uncertainty, but this journey turned into the ultimate real-life stress test. My initial plan was to take the exam offline at Kyiv test center, but it was canceled twice for completely unexplained reasons. Switching to the online format didn't go smoothly either: during my first attempt, severe technical difficulties caught me off guard, causing massive stress that ultimately led to a failed exam. Dealing with that level of frustration, I immediately rebooked the exam for the earliest available date, managed the risks, and successfully knocked it out of the park on the retake, scoring Above Target in all 3 domains (3AT)! 🚀 In general, it was a fantastic journey and a great opportunity to align my practical experience with global standards and prove that my gut feelings actually have official PMI process names. This milestone belongs to a whole stakeholder register of amazing people, and I want to say a huge THANK YOU: - to my Trainer, Natalia Starynska, PMP for sharing sharp insights and helping me truly understand the "PMI mindset" - to my Prep Team for constructive debates and experience sharing - to my Colleagues from the best PMO in Europe for their incredible support Now I can finally officially confirm that I manage projects according to PMI standards, and not just through sheer willpower and magic😉"
Learning approach
Structured content delivery
domain by domain, weighted the way the exam is weighted
Program manager mindset
we train the judgement the exam tests: benefits first, projects second
Application workshop
you write your program descriptions during the course, not after it
Session recordings
every session is recorded and available in the LMS
Homework (optional but recommended)
15-20 simulator questions after each session
Exam simulator practice
full-length timed simulations under real exam conditions
12 live online sessions
(24 PDUs)
Access to INSTAR LMS
with structured materials mapped to the ECO
200-question PgMP exam simulator
3-month post-course group mentoring
(6 sessions x 1 hour)
Dedicated group chat
PgMP application review before submission
Real-world program cases
Format and price
Course information
- Dates
- 1q 2027. Group forming. Register to reserve a seat; the start date is announced when the group is complete (up to 5 people)
- Time
- 12:00-14:15 New York · 18:00-20:15 Berlin · 19:00-21:15 Kyiv
- Duration
- 12 sessions × 2 hrs (Tue & Thu), 6 weeks
- Group
- Up to 5 participants
- Level
- Advanced, English B2 or higher
- PDU / training hours
- 24
- Format
- Live online
- Language
- English
- Mentoring after the course
- 6 group sessions, fortnightly, 3 months
- Certificate of completion
- Yes
- English level required
- B2 or higher
- Cohort size
- up to 5 participants to preserve discussion quality
Includes 24 PDUs, a 200-question PgMP exam simulator, panel-review application support and 3 months of post-course mentoring. PMI exam fee not included.
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