Why Revolutionary Tech Needs Rock-Solid Project Management: Meet Muhammad

Being a successful entrepreneur often requires more than just a good idea and the ambition to bring it to fruition. As Muhammad A. discovered, it requires a range of organizational and operational skills to nimbly juggle the demands of day-to-day workflows. 

Muhammad has the vision. After earning his bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering, he founded WaterGenix. The start-up uses cutting-edge nanotechnology to extract clean drinking water straight from the air—no electricity required. “I want to build technology that helps humanity adapt, survive, and thrive in a changing climate,” Muhammad explained. 

But as WaterGenix’s CEO, he quickly discovered a critical skills gap—and turned to the Google Project Management Professional Certificate on Coursera to address it. “My primary goal was to develop practical project management expertise to lead cross-functional teams and manage sustainable innovation within WaterGenix,” he said. 

Once he completed the Professional Certificate, Muhammad felt more confident in helming his start-up and guiding its impact. “It strengthened my leadership and communication skills, helping me guide teams with better clarity and structure,” he said. 

Muhammad spoke with Coursera about the skills he developed through Google and how he’s applying them in his everyday work. 

What have you enjoyed about learning with Google? 

It brought learning to life in a way traditional education couldn’t. The Google Project Management Certificate wasn’t just videos—it was hands-on, real-world, scenario-based, and deeply practical. I also appreciated the global learning community, structured skill progression, and industry-relevant content, all taught by experts who’ve led projects at scale.

It brought learning to life in a way traditional education couldn’t.

What skills have you developed or strengthened in the program?

Lots! Project planning and execution, Agile and Scrum methodologies, risk management and stakeholder communication, leadership and cross-functional collaboration, and how to solve problems under constraints. It also strengthened my confidence in managing teams, especially as a founder.

How did you fit learning into your schedule?

As a founder, researcher, and designer, my schedule is always full. I built a routine, spending at least one hour learning every night. 

What kept you motivated?

My motivation came from knowing every skill I learned would immediately strengthen my start-up. Each lesson felt like an investment in my future impact.

Have you experienced any kind of impact from what you’ve learned?

It helped me transform from a researcher who executes into a founder who leads. It gave me the language, tools, and frameworks to manage uncertainty essential for a deep-tech start-up working on climate solutions. The biggest moment was when I successfully applied Agile communication and planning methodologies to manage a 10-intern team working on WaterGenix’s digital outreach—and it worked flawlessly! 

It helped me transform from a researcher who executes into a founder who leads.

Were you able to apply anything you learned right away? 

I redesigned WaterGenix’s internal workflows, built an Agile project system for content, research, and product development, improved communication across a growing remote team, and became more confident about delegating and tracking progress. 

Has anything surprised you during your time learning with Google?

Yes, I was surprised by how accessible high-quality leadership training has become. You don’t need to be in Silicon Valley or at a top university to learn world-class skills anymore. Another lesson: project management is not paperwork—it’s leadership, empathy, clarity, and communication.

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*Individual experiences and outcomes can vary, and Coursera does not guarantee job interviews or job placements upon completion of its courses.