Worley was crowned champions of the 48th ECITB ACTIVE Cup as ten teams from companies in the engineering construction industry competed at Carnoustie Golf Hotel near Dundee in Scotland.

Now in its 30th year, the event was the second ACTIVE Cup project management competition of the year, after a team from McDermott International came out on top in January at Cranfield University, near Milton Keynes.

After three days of competition, Worley claimed the coveted title, with the teams from Subsea7 (Gold Award) and Wood (Silver Winner) the runners up.

The Worley team, named The Worley Wonkas, was made up of Legal Counsel Nneka Uzoh, Principal Commercial Lead Samuel Doig, Process Engineer Stefani Duncan, Principal Process Engineer Yun Tai Man and Instrumentation Engineer Edvinas Zailskas.

Stefani said: “It’s been great working in such a diverse team which enabled a variety of ideas and collaboration.”

As well as the teams from Worley, Subsea7 and Wood, the Most Improved Award went to the team from McDermott (CB&I), while the remaining cohort came Aker Solutions Limited, a joint Magnox / NRS Dounreay team, Xodus, Technip FMC, Stork and STATS (UK) Ltd.

Organised by the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB), the event is run in collaboration with, and hosted by, Cranfield School of Management.

The ACTIVE Cup, which takes place three times a year, involves teams of up to five managing a project from concept through to completion with the aim of making the most profit against their initial cost.

The team members from Worley were presented with their ACTIVE Cup trophies by ECITB COO Andy Brown

The team members from Worley were presented with their ACTIVE Cup trophies by ECITB Chief Operating Officer Andy Brown. Below: The team from Stork working on the project simulation.

The team from Stork working on the project simulation at the ACTIVE Cup

Supporting the development of effective management

ECITB Chief Operating Officer Andy Brown was on hand to give out prizes to the winners, with VIPs from the employing companies also present for the ceremony.

Andy said: “Congratulations to Worley and all the teams that took part across three days of unique and immersive learning.

“The ACTIVE Cup is a hugely popular competition that welcomes delegates from companies across all engineering construction industry sectors – it was so popular this year we even had a waiting list.

“The competition enables teams to experience the whole project management process as they manage a simulated project through an execution phase of 28 weeks.

“While a wide range of project management skills are tested during the event, delegates also develop a deeper understanding of management processes in the continuous planning, execution and control cycle of a dynamic project.

“Project management competence is a fundamental foundation in the effective delivery of projects across our industry. However, this programme also supports the development of effective supply chain management, effective team management and effective information management, three of the eight ACTIVE Principles.

“These competences will be key in effectively executing the next phase of infrastructure projects and whether you are an engineer, a project manager, work in project controls or in HR they are all relevant.

“Developing the workforce for net zero is a key objective in our Leading Industry Learning Strategy 2023-25 and this involves making sure we have project management capability to work in a more collaborative, connected way and to challenge the status quo.”

The third of the three ACTIVE Cup events in 2024 takes place back at Cranfield University from Friday 21 to Sunday 23 June, with applications to take part in this event open in April.

The ACTIVE Cup is part of the ECITB’s wider project management training programmes aimed at raising skill levels within the engineering construction industry.

As well as its industry-leading range of courses and qualifications in project controls and supervisory skills, the ECITB supports employers to develop project management skills through its project management mentoring programme and supporting additional specialist courses.

Find out more about the ECITB’s Project Management programmes

Find out more about the ACTIVE Cup