On the first weekend of March, between the 1st and 3rd, nineteen members of JuniFEUP traveled to Brussels to participate in the 2024 edition of JEEWC, organized at ICHEC Brussels Management School.

Friday, the first day of the event, was marked by two main moments. A round table, composed of 5 speakers, including one Portuguese deputy of the European Parliament. The main theme was sustainability and was an excellent way to better understand current initiatives and future perspectives. Next, the presentations of the Junior Enterprises (JEs) finalists in the Excellence Awards. These were made to a panel of judges, Junior Enterprises Europe (JEE) and to all participants of the event, and provided a detailed view of the operation and projects developed by these JEs.

During Saturday we had the opportunity to participate in several workshops, in which we were encouraged to team with participants from different European JEs. These were moments marked by the sharing of knowledge and practices by each person, which provided a greater understanding of other realities. The day culminated in a Gala dinner where we had the opportunity to continue networking, getting to know even more Junior Entrepreneurs in a relaxed atmosphere.

Finally, on the last day we were privileged with an inspiring talk given by Daniel Lamarre, former CEO of Cirque du Soleil. It was a moment where we were able to have a unique perspective on how a company that lives off shows survived the pandemic and how it reinvented itself during this period. The final moments of the conference were the most emotional. Firstly, the 5 prizes were awarded to the winning JEs followed by the closing ceremony.

JEEWC 2024 provided participants with a unique experience of sharing knowledge, networking and personal development. Through workshops, round tables, presentations and lectures, JuniFEUP members were able to deepen their knowledge on various topics relevant to the business world, such as sustainability, project management and reinvention. Furthermore, the opportunity to interact with Junior Entrepreneurs from different countries and cultures contributed to a broader view of the global market and to the development of new ideas and projects.