The student Industrial Organization Dario Brillembourg is in luck. He has recently been selected in P&G's IT Business Challenge 2018 (ITBC) program and made it all the way to the finals in Greece. "To have had the opportunity to spend a week in Athens on an all-expenses-paid basis alongside 23 other students from around the world to compete by solving real business cases and experience first-hand how technology enables innovation in consumer-centric brands has been a unique opportunity," confesses a smiling Dario.

Which profile students had the chance to access this program?

University students between the last years of their degree or Masters who were interested in having exhibition to the real world of information technology, business and innovation in P&G. Anyone had a chance to get in, but in my opinion staff, most were engineers and ADE and even one from International Office. You had to have a passion for wanting to learn, but obviously you needed technical and even business skills. The selection process had several stages including CV review, face-to-face mathematical, logical and verbal reasoning test, Skype and face-to-face interview -in my case it was in Madrid-, and a virtual challenge created by P&G where there were questions on technology, business management, business and innovation.

What has the stay in Greece consisted of?

My stay in Greece lasted 5 and a half days. The stay was not only for the competition but also to reward the 24 finalists with a lot of learning, fun and professional improvement. Each day we had a real business case - 4 in total - where our role as "IT Solution Managers" was to apply technology to provide viable solutions. We tried to simulate the real functioning of a company like P&G where the IT department has to work together with the other Departments. We were divided into 4 teams of 6 people (each of different nationalities) and we were given between 2 and 3 hours to solve it. At the end of each case, the team had to present the project to the board and try to convince them to invest in it. 

What flavor do you come back with?

One of the best experiences I have ever had in my life. The professional learning was obvious, but everything I learned in such a diverse, challenging and unique experience was priceless. First, I had never worked in such an international environment where everyone has different perspectives on life. Our team of 6 alone included a Russian, a Polish, a Turkish, a Greek and an Italian. challenge The biggest challenge was to get the best out of everyone in just 4 days without having met each other before and not having enough trust. For me, understanding the importance of teamworkThe most valuable part of the trip for me was understanding the importance of the trip, the challenges it brings, the motivation of each one and understanding each member of the group.