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Professional Development Units (PDUs) and Scrum Education Units (SEUs) are methods of tracking an educational growth of a professional by the organizations that issue the certification. PDUs are related to Project Management Institute and SEUs are related to Scrum Alliance. As companies have started adopting Agile Methodology, they start looking for candidates who have a certain knowledge about the various Agile frameworks. Organizations such as Scrum Alliance and Project Management Institute conduct certification programs for candidates who are interested in learning about the Scrum framework and Project Management respectively. These organizations are the best places where one could get educated about Agile Methodology and also the certification issued by them would be valuable for the candidate. Recruiters from top organizations select individuals with certifications from Scrum Alliance or PMI as their education is considered the gold standard in the Agile industry. 

What are PDUs and SEUs?

PDUs and SEUs are certain points credited by the organizations which guarantee that the candidate has been keeping up with their ongoing continuous learning. Agile is a field where any professional has to constantly keep learning new techniques and be updated by the current trends in the market. The candidate must stay relevant and grow in their respective field such that they could give their best performance for the growth of the business. Most importantly, these credits are essential if the candidate has to maintain or obtain any official certification. PDUs are calculated based on the hours the individual spends in the educational activity. For example, a person who attends one hour of any educational activity such as webinars or workshops would get 1 PDU. SEUs are similar concepts employed by Scrum Alliance, where candidates get credit points based on the activities they participate in. Let us understand in detail these credit points and know how it is important in building a successful Agile Career. 

PDUs:

Professional Development Units (PDUs) are blocks of time that a professional spends in volunteering, teaching, or learning any concept related to Project Management. They are one-hour blocks of time which means that 1 PDUs is equal to one hour of educational activity. These credit points are issued by Project Management Institute and by collecting these points the candidate can maintain their certification status with PMI. The main purpose of earning PDUs is to renew the Project Management certifications earned by the professionals such as PMP, PMI-ACP, CAPM, PMI-PBA, etc. Most of the certification courses should be renewed annually where the candidate needs to submit a certain number of PDUs to renew them. 

How does a professional earn PDUs?

PDUs could be earned in many ways such as by reading books, attending webinars and seminars, or by taking formal training classes. The best way of earning PDUs is by reading books on Project Management. Candidates can also attend refreshment or evening chapter meetings and other formal presentations which are worth 1 PDU every hour. The individuals can select the book they are reading for and specify how many PDUs they are applying for. Categorically, there are two ways to earn a PDU. They are:

• Ongoing education: A person can take an in-person or online course, attend webinars or seminars, industry events, and self-directed learning at their own pace to earn PDUs. However, one should make sure that they are receiving PDUs after the completion of the course they have enrolled in. Here are few important ways of earning an educational PDU:
• Training or course: These courses could be attended in-person or through virtual real-time instructors.  
• Attending an academic education program that is accredited to the PMI Global Accreditation Center (GAC)
• Attending course from other third-party providers
• Meetings and events are held by the PMI global community which includes keynote and featured speakers. 
• On-demand, live, and virtual events. 
• Local Meetings
• Local activities and events that are related to the profession. 
• Entering "lunch and learn" sessions where structured professionals discuss the latest trends in Project Management. 

• Giving back to the industry: Creating content about Project Management and volunteering to offer Project Management services outside the company would help in acquiring more PDUs as well. Few ways of gaining PDUs by this method are:
• Working as a practitioner: By working in the role in which the candidate has gained certification would earn them PDUs as they are applying their skills and knowledge in a practical setting.
• Creating content such as articles, blogs, making videos, giving webinars could help the candidate earn PDUs.
• Speaking at your organization or a conference or PMI chapter event also helps in earning PDUs
• Volunteering at PMI is also one of the methods an individual can gain PDUs.

How to claim PDUs?

We understand that attending lectures, conferences, and webinars would fetch us PDU points. But, for the points to be reflected in our account there are certain steps that a candidate has to fulfill. 

Steps to claim PDUs on your PMI Dashboard if you attended PremierAgile's workshops.

Step 1: Use your credentials to login into PMI.org

Step 2: Click on myPMI- Dashboard, which is present on the top corner 

Step 3: Click on "view more on your Dashboard" which is found under "Certification status".

Step 4: Click on Report PDUs which is found when you click on PDUs.

Step 5: Select "Education", under which you have to click on course or training"

Step 6: Enter "PremierAgile" in the field which says "provider"

Step 7: Enter the course you attended from PremierAgile- CSM, ACSM, CSPO, or ACSPO.

Step 8: Enter the details of your workshop

Step 9: Enter the other details asked on the website

Step 10: Enter the PDUs which are claimed for PMI-ACP and/or PMP

Step 11: Check the "I agree this claim is accurate" and click submit

Step 12: The approval of the PDUs may take a few minutes to days.

SEUs:

Scrum Educational Units (SEUs) are credit points that are offered by Scrum Alliance on completion of any course offered by them such as Certified Scrum Master (CSM), Certified Scrum Developer, or Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO). Similar to PDUs, SEUs are points that are gained by learning and attending various Scrum events such as webinars, courses, conferences, etc. Gaining points helps the candidates to renew their certifications easily and also encourages them to learn consistently and have updated knowledge about the industry. 

These SEUs are practically essential for renewing the Scrum certifications issued by Scrum Alliance. Certification should be renewed every two years and a certain amount of SEUs must be submitted for the renewal process. The purpose of having the concept of SEU is to encourage candidates to spend time practicing and studying the latest trends in Scrum. SEUs can be earned by reading articles, attending events, volunteering, and taking courses. Every hour one spends participating in the mentioned events, the person gets one SEU. Adding SEUs to the certification renewal essentially maintains the credibility of the Scrum certification. 

How do Professionals Earn SEUs?

Earning SEUs are divided into four categories. They are:

• Events: Scrum Alliance Global Gatherings, Scrum Alliance Regional Gatherings. User Group events and activities and Non-Scrum Alliance-Sponsored events are a few of the events which professionals could attend to gain SEUs. The candidates can present, coach, or simply attend as an audience in these events and earn SEUs. 
• Learning: Working with CECs, CTCs, REPs, and CSTs and learning about Scrum concepts by preparing presentations, authoring books, blogs, and articles, watching a webinar/video, or reading books in depth are also excellent ways of earning SEUs.
• Volunteering: By giving back to the community as volunteers and providing non-compensated professional Scrum services, professionals can earn SEUs.
• Others: Apart from the above-mentioned activities, there also may be other ways such as creating content, writing blogs, etc which may not fit into any categories but could still help in earning SEUs.

In case you want to earn SEUs by reading content on the website, you should log in to the website while you are spending time reading articles. The content which is eligible for SEU is marked with badges, and as the person finishes reading it, the SEUs are credited automatically. 

How to Add SEUs?

Similar to PDUs, SEUs are also issued to professionals when they complete Scrum courses such as CSM, ACSM, CSPO, and ACSPO. If you have completed these courses, then follow these  steps to add SEUs to your Scrum Alliance profile if you attended PremierAgile's workshops. 

Step 1: Use your credentials to login into Scrum Alliance

Step 2: By clicking on your name on the top right corner, select "My Dashboard" from the drop-down menu

Step 3: Click on Scrum Units, and select manage SEUs

Step 4: You will receive four options- Volunteering, learning, events, others. Select the "activity type" for which you want to claim SEUs. 

Step 5: Give details about the activity date and activity description along with the number of hours you spend in the respective activity. You have to know that each hour of the activity would earn you one SEU. After filling in the details, click on submit.

Step 6: You will have an option of "Add SEU" where you can check the list of your SEUs.

Why are PDUs and SEUs important?

When candidates earn PDUs by completing a course or by accomplishing other projects, they verify that they have set aside time to learn and improve their knowledge of Agile values and principles. Any individual or organization can conduct seminars, webinars, educational classes, and other functions and can provide PDUs and SEUs to the candidate attending it. PDUs and SEUs are ways of ensuring that a professional is relevant to their respective course and institute. For any professional to be successful in their Agile career, they have to stay connected to new advances in the course they have studied. Gaining PDUs and SEUs makes them learn more about Project Management and Scrum Alliance respectively. Also, to earn PDUs and SEUs, candidates volunteer and create content that makes them a better professional in their field and helps them learn more about their profession.

 Some of the most important benefits of PDUs and SEUs are:

• It is a requirement for the renewal of Certification courses completed from the PMI and Scrum Alliance. 
• It helps in continuous learning as gaining SEUs and PDUs requires the professional to constantly stay active in their respective field. 
• To accumulate the points, the candidates give back to the community and help the community to flourish and sustain. 
• When a candidate constantly learns new skills and updates their knowledge, they stay relevant to the market and can get recruited in any companies they desire. This gives them immense opportunity to grow in their career and become reputed professionals.
• By attending webinars, group discussions, and seminars, professionals make good connections which helps them know reputed people of their community. Networking helps professionals to find the best jobs in the market and provides them various opportunities for career growth. 

As the knowledge in both fields is vast, and could not be possibly covered by taking one course in a specific role, SEUs and PDUs make it compulsory for the candidates to effectively take part in activities that help them understand the field better. Overall, to earn SEUs and PDUs, candidates take part in various activities which ultimately contribute to their success and make them a better Agile professional. 

Conclusion

Each course is a unique course, and before enrolling in them, you have to make sure whether the course provides PDUs and SEUs. As mentioned, PDUs and SEUs are required for individuals to renew their certifications every two or three years. As every person is different, their interests may also differ. Hence, both institutions have designed various ways of how one can obtain a PDU or SEU. Always think of earning these credit points as a measure of how much you get to learn about the course and how much time you spend giving back to the community.

References

1. https://www.pmi.org/certifications/certification-resources/maintain/earn-pdus/education
2. https://www.scrumalliance.org/get-certified/scrum-education-units

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