Congratulations to the GeCCo Winners 2023!

The 11th Global eCollaboration Competition (GeCCo) awards ceremony took place on April 15, 2023. Huge congratulations to all the winners and highly commended, and a big thank you to all participants, judges, and sponsors – you made the event special and unforgettable for everyone!

After the competition, we asked the winners: what exactly were the competencies that helped them win and what did they learn?

"From the very outset, we were like one. The inception of GeCCo posed a formidable challenge, especially during the first six hours, given that two of our team members were absent. This called for rapid and impeccable organization, including the distribution of tasks, establishment of our sleeping and working schedules, among others. In my estimation, the most crucial skill we demonstrated during this challenge was our unwavering focus on teamwork. Just a few hours into a competition, we were laughing, helping, and fulfilling one another's duties. Each one of us gave our utmost effort, capitalizing on our diverse backgrounds and knowledge to support one another through the night. We never suffered from a dearth of ideas and remained fully prepared to give our best throughout the critical 24-hour period.

I learned a lot more about risk management than I knew before! This newfound knowledge is bound to benefit my career significantly. As a biologist working predominantly on infrastructure projects, I gained valuable insights into the APAC market and the rapidly expanding IT industry. Most significantly, I realized just how much can be accomplished in a single day with a team of individuals one has never met before, and how most of the projects depend on effective communication and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances. It is indeed the essence of project management -— a beautiful synergy of individual skills coalescing into a shared success.” - Ana Žiroš

“I think it's hard to pinpoint one or several competencies that helped us win. It was a combination of many things, such as our resilience after losing 2 team members, our will for cooperation, patience, creativity, ... but I also think my past experiences with similar case studies helped as well. GeCCo reminded me of my case studies during my MSc Project Management.

As a team, we quickly learned to adapt to the fact that we were down by two members and distributed tasks accordingly. Personally, I was amazed by how effective our pm-measures and planning were, given the short time of the case study. I also enjoyed working with people from new cultures, as I learned more about how people from Croatia, Georgia and Russia think and work.” - Maximilian Riemhofer

“I really think our team's abilities in project and risk management, communication, and use of online tools were key to winning the GeCCO 2023. We put a lot of effort into it, and our approach to trying to have fun there made all the difference! I learned that effective communication does not always mean high English proficiency. By supporting each other and giving feedback, acting in sprints, and simplifying tasks, we were able to overcome the language barrier and work successfully as a team. It's important to recognize each other's strengths and interests and use them to achieve our goals.

This experience taught me that success depends not only on technical skills, but also on building strong relationships and creating a positive work environment. The competition was an unforgettable experience that taught me the importance of effective communication, collaboration, and a positive attitude. I'm grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow with my team, and I'm sure these skills will be useful in our future endeavors!” - Vladislav Kositsyn

“The core competencies that helped us: team working, collaboration, brainstorming and working as a team, and taking responsibility for your own work in a team.

I've learned how to work in an international environment and deal with impossibly tight deadlines, I learned how to learn and analyze the new theme in a short period.” - Zurab Pertaia