Projects are used to implement strategic change, particularly in infrastructure contexts where societal value unfolds over long time horizons. Existing project management literature searches for bridges with change management, understanding the importance of a continuous project process, yet focusing on discontinuities in multi-actor scenarios and defined stage-gates. The internal mechanisms of public owner organisations remain underexplored, yet are of paramount importance, due to the role of the public organisation in the front-end phase and as a warrantor along the whole project's process. This study addresses this gap by investigating how discontinuities arise within a Norwegian public infrastructure agency as it implements a sustainability-oriented strategic change programme across its projects’ development. Drawing on an engaged scholarship approach, combining document analysis, semi-structured interviews, and participatory workshops, the study identifies and categorises four intra-organisational sources of discontinuity (P–I–M–S): (P) changes in personnel, (I) information transfer, (M) lack of performance measurement, and (S) misalignment in long-term strategic ambitions. These discontinuities, emerging during a change programme implementation, reveal the gaps along the continuity spine in the project’s process. In response, the paper argues for deliberate, early integration function (PMO-like) to resolve the discontinuities that arise. By unfolding the mechanisms internal to the public organization in the implementation of the strategic change across the project process and the specific discontinuities, the study offers an empirically informed perspective on the longitudinal integration in projects, with implications for both practitioners and researchers. • Infrastructure projects function as vehicles for long-term strategic change. • Continuity is essential to keep projects aligned with organisational strategic intent. • Discontinuities arise early within the public administration itself, even before external actors enter the process. • These discontinuities create early misalignments and generate downstream challenges for future management entities. • An internal integration function (e.g., a PMO) is needed to secure coherence across phases and sustain strategic alignment.

This paper offers a design-led investigation of AI-enhanced game-based learning (AI-GBL) as a transformative pedagogical approach for project leadership education. Addressing the persistent theory–practice gap in project management training, the study incorporates generative AI into ethically complex, emotionally engaging simulation environments that mimic real-world stakeholder challenges. The intervention allows learners to participate in adaptive decision-making, critical reflection, and ethical reasoning in face-to-face and blended formats, based on principles from experiential learning, productive failure, and relational pedagogy. Implemented in 2024 across undergraduate and postgraduate cohorts at an Irish university, the intervention was examined through six interconnected design themes: relevance, agility, identity, ethics, motivation, and adaptability. These themes were instructional principles and analytical lenses, revealing significant conceptual learning gains, enhanced ethical deliberation, and evidence of evolving leadership identity. Qualitative data from reflective journals and digital dialogues demonstrated students' growing capacity for situated judgement, collaborative reasoning, and morAIal awareness. This paper offers a conceptual roadmap for integrating AI-GBL into leadership education, viewing generative as a pedagogical co-ordinator that supports ambiguity, highlights values, and fosters human-centred learning. It advocates for ethically designed AI to develop project leaders who are skilled, self-aware, ethically grounded, and capable of leading with integrity in an era of complex technology. As AI reshapes work and learning, AI-GBL provides a way to align human abilities with technological potential. I am pleased to submit the manuscript "Advancing Project Leadership Education through AI-Enhanced Game-Based Learning: A Pedagogical Roadmap for Ethical, Adaptive, and Experiential Development" for consideration in Project Leadership and Society. This study addresses an urgent need to reimagine project leadership education in light of generative AI's expanding capabilities. The manuscript offers the following key contributions: • Conceptual Innovation: The paper introduces AI-enhanced game-based learning (AI–GBL) as a novel educational paradigm. It leverages generative AI to create immersive, scenario-driven environments that support ethical reasoning, narrative identity, and adaptive judgement—areas increasingly critical for future project leaders. • Thematic Framework: Six interconnected pedagogical themes—relevance, agility, identity, ethics, motivation, and adaptability—structure the intervention. These themes are grounded in theory and translated into practical design principles, forming a flexible roadmap for educators and institutions. • Empirical Contribution: Drawing on data from a quasi-experimental study of 160 undergraduate and postgraduate students, the paper demonstrates significant learning gains, deeper ethical engagement, and evidence of identity formation through narrative reflection and ambiguity navigation. • Bridging the Theory–Practice Gap: The intervention directly addresses the limitations of procedural instruction by simulating complex, high-stakes dilemmas. Learners are invited to lead through uncertainty rather than resolve it prematurely—rehearsing professional judgement in a psychologically safe but morally charged space. • Timely Relevance: For the first time, generative AI enables scalable, responsive, and emotionally resonant simulations. The manuscript argues that AI–GBL environments are not merely technological tools, but philosophical interventions capable of advancing both educational innovation and human-centred leadership development. This manuscript aims to support the academic and professional community in designing AI-integrated educational systems that centre human capabilities. It provides a practical, theoretically grounded, and ethically attuned framework for preparing leaders equipped to navigate complexity in the age of AI. Thank you for considering this submission. I hope this work will resonate with readers interested in leadership, education, ethics, and technology.

Research on mitigating the negative effects of project work on project workers is scarce. This study analyzes the roles of psychological capital as an individual factor and coworker and family support as environmental factors in reducing the negative effects of project work. Building on the job demands-resources model and conservation of resources theory, the influence of these factors on the relationships between subjective stress, job burnout, and individual job performance is examined. The research model is empirically tested using data from a sample of 304 project workers. The results show that coworker and family support are positively associated with psychological capital. Additionally, psychological capital mediates the effects of social resources on subjective stress, which can lead to job burnout and poor work performance. Thus, coworker and family support and psychological capital can mitigate stress, job burnout, and their negative consequences. • How to reduce negative effects of project work on project workers? • Empirical study based on a sample of 304 project workers. • Coworker and family support are positively related to psychological capital. • Psychological capital mediates the effects of social resources on subjective stress. • Coworker-/family support and psychological capital mitigate stress and job burnout.