Competing with the very best future project managers in the world
This blog is written by a Prohoc summer trainee, Junior Project Engineer Juho Veteläinen a student of Vaasa University of Applied Sciences studying Mechanical Engineering and specialized in Process- and Project Management.
This year we won the Finland National Project Management Competition held by Projektiyhdistys ry (link). This gave our team the possibility to represent Finland in the international finals in Belgrade, Serbia.
Our team was a band of 4 students from Vaasa University of Applied Sciences, Feetu Hannila, Sebastian Lindberg and me from Mechanical Engineering studies and Apurva Ganoo from Information Technology. It was a great setup with good variety of different personalities and backgrounds to enhance the diverse drive to the work.
The International Final of Project Management was held by IPMA Young Crew in 01. – 03.06.; there were 9 countries competing against each other for the title of a world champion. The weekend itself was well arranged and we hold great honor to take part for such event.
It was extremely unique opportunity to meet and connect with the very best future project managers. Since all participants were young, it was easy to have fun together even though the main purpose for the weekend was the competition. The possibilities for networking and creating new connections was also important and highly valued.
The competition took place on Saturday; it was a simulation game which was completely new way of working for our team. It was a nice experience but also a bit challenging since we had to study the way it works at the same time we were executing it. Regardless to our minor experience from such simulation we managed to complete the game satisfyingly and to stay in the given time frame.
The gala-dinner was arranged at the Royal White Palace after the competition. The event gave a glorious royal closing for the tough weekend of competing. We were told about the fascinating and multi-faceted history of Serbia and there was even a traditional dancing show to get a feeling of also cheerful Serbian past. The award ceremony was the climax of the night; the well-earned first place was tied between German and Serbian teams.
All in all the weekend was extremely good experience for us and it really gave us a sparkle to build further our knowledge of the project-business life. After this experience, it is easy to agree that being active and curious will take you to unforgettable places and open-up new opportunities both for your personal life and career.
Trying something new you will always gain valuable experience and new connections. It might help you to find your passion, nevertheless you will learn something new!
