Articles:
- Portugal's Global Management Challenge Summer Party
- Interview with President of Accenture Portugal
- Photos


Portugal’s Global Management Challenge Summer Party

After three weeks of intense competition, the first round of the Global Management Challenge 2008 has been completed. As usual, to celebrate, the organization held a summer party with participating teams and sponsors. Many participants were present in the summer party, taking place in the Belém Bar Café and all night long students and sponsors representatives had the chance to network and celebrate their participation in the Challenge, started 30 years ago by SDG and the Expresso newspaper.

Joining the event were many friends and supporters of the Global Management Challenge that during all the years have supported the development and projection of the Challenge: they included Prof. Doutor António Castro Guerra, Secretary of State Assistant to the Minister and for Industry and Innovation, Eng. Mira Amaral, former minister of Industry and Energy, CEO of BancoBIC and Professor and many other representatives of the business world and universities.

In the next phase, the 64 teams, all winners in the first round, will compete for a place in the National Final. This group is composed of: 29 teams of executives, 26 teams of students and 9 teams a mix of professionals and students.

Portugal Telecom Group has the biggest representation in the next round, with 7 teams, followed by Accenture; CTT the Portuguese Post Office with 6 teams each, EDP (Energy Company) and Caixa Geral de Depósitos with 5 teams each.

Students participating in this competition stated that the experience gained from developing team spirit and broadening knowledge during the exercise, are some of the positive aspects that they gain from participating in this competition. Companies supporting teams aim for added value to become more competitive. According to CTT the main advantages of being in this initiative are the practices of technical know-how, as well as the behavioural characteristics that are developed: in the team work, pro-activity in the anticipation of competitive decisions, organization and time management, combined with the networking opportunities created for developing future professional contacts. In the perspective of EDP, the Global Management Challenge is a unique initiative to contact the students and communicate what the company has best to offer: the people, the knowledge and their position as a modern, sustainable and entrepreneurial enterprise.

Pedro Alves Costa, Vice-President of SDG, announced that the Global Management Challenge, will celebrate the 30th anniversary next year, and it is thanks to the support of all sponsors and participants of this initiative that the Challenge as been expanding in Portugal and world wide. Finland is the most recent entry for the group of countries where the competition takes place.

So all is ready for the next round, in the last days of September, and the National Final in November.

The International Final will take place in Lisbon on the 23rd of April 2009, where teams from 30 countries will compete in the Global Management Challenge, the International Competition of Strategy and Management.

"José Galamba de Oliveira, President of Accenture Portugal, highlights the positive aspects of the partnership with the Global Management Challenge.

Accenture Portugal is one of the companies which has been committed to sponsoring the Global Management Challenge over the long term. José Galamba de Oliveira, President says that one of the reasons for this continued support is the will to contribute to the training of students, to place Accenture close to the student community and in a position to best identify student talent ..." + read more