The Técnico students Ricardo Andrade (Computer Science and Engineering), Catarina Almeida (Electrical and Computer Engineering) and José Luz (Electrical and Computer Engineering) won the Portuguese national finals of the Project Management Championship (PMC), an international competition organised for the first time in Portugal. The students and members of JUNITEC (Junior Enterprises at Instituto Superior Técnico) will represent Portugal in the international final, which will take place in virtual format.
“From the moment we registered in the championship, we knew that we had what it takes to represent Portugal at the international final”, said Catarina Almeida. “The fact that we are all JUNITEC members allowed us to be familiar with Project Management, which was very useful during the competition”, stresses the Técnico student.
The competition is organised by Young Crew Portugal (YCP), which is part of the Portuguese Project Management Association (APOGEP), and is divided into 3 stages: the qualification round, the national finals and the international final. In the qualification round, the Técnico team had to solve 100 questions in 100 minutes. The 6 teams that passed to the national finals were challenged to solve a practical case in 4 hours.
José Luz says that the team had no specific preparation for the competition. “Above all, we wanted to understand how far our Project Management skills could take us, and more specifically, if they would take us to Belgrade”. “Theory is not always reflected in day-to-day practice and, therefore, when we were faced with very theoretical questions in the first stage of the competition we thought that we would not be at a high enough level”, recalls the Técnico student. The second stage allowed students “to do exactly what we do every day at Técnico and at JUNITEC, which is to deconstruct problems into smaller parts so that, in the end, we have a cohesive and thought-out solution in all aspects”, stresses José Luz.
Concerning the strategy used by the team to win 1st place, José Luz says “initially, our focus was to define and focus on priorities, and divide and conquer”. “We knew it was a project with a relatively complex scope that covered a subject completely unknown to us. We started to work together, each one of us focusing more intensely on some aspects, but never neglecting the discussion and sharing of ideas”.
Although the Técnico students were well prepared, they were aware that the competition would be tough, “with teams coming from all over the country, also worthy of this distinction”, says Catarina Almeida. “The talent and potential of the other participants gave us further motivation to give our best to win the Portuguese national finals”, she adds.
“It was a very enriching experience”, the students highlight. “We were able to develop and put into practice our knowledge, get to know the Portuguese Project Management Association and we had the opportunity to collaborate with several students who share our interest in project management”.
“We will do our best to win the international final and to put into practice all the knowledge and experience we acquired at JUNITEC”, says Ricardo Andrade.
