Aker Solutions Ltd is celebrating after winning the 50th staging of the ACTIVE Cup project management competition.
The company, which delivers integrated solutions, products and services to the global energy industry, came out on top as 12 teams from employers in the engineering construction industry (ECI) competed over three days at Cranfield University near Milton Keynes.
Teams from Altrad (gold winner) and McDermott Marine Construction Ltd (silver winner) were the runners up in an event organised by the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) and run in collaboration with, and hosted by, Cranfield School of Management.
The ACTIVE Cup, which has been going for more than 30 years, 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 competition sees teams manage a simulated project through an execution phase of 28 weeks and tests skills such as planning, cost control, negotiation, working under intense time pressure and collaboration.
As well as the teams from Aker Solutions Ltd, Altrad and McDermott Marine Construction Ltd, the remaining cohorts came from McDermott LCS (CB&I), the ECITB, NIRAS Group, Wood Group UK, Subsea7 Limited, Worley, KBR, Costain and ODE Asset Management / Doris Engineering UK Ltd, which won the most improved award.
The five members of the winning Aker Solutions Ltd team were Technical Safety Engineer Munara Turlanova, Advisor – Project Controller Amresh Tiwari, Principal Pipe Stress Engineer Ajay Virdi, Mechanical Engineer Elissa Campbell-Douglas and Principal Process Engineer Joaquin Perez Benitez.
ACTIVE Cup reaction
Reacting to the victory, Ajay said: “We are elated to have won this cup in such a high-pressure environment. It was a very rewarding experience. My background is in engineering and this gave me insight into the project management function as a whole. I understand a bit more now what project managers mean when they talk about scheduling delays and how they affect the project. I also learned how much the work from one team member can affect the entire project. Teamwork works!”
Amresh added: “It was very emotional. You keep doing the calculations in your head, wondering if your team won. When they said we had won I felt amazing. The event helped me understand how and why you look at things from a broader perspective when planning projects.”
Elissa said: “It was an intense experience. We put so much work into it, the winning was just the icing on the cake. I work in procurement, so there are many transferrable skills I can apply, especially when it comes to change management and timekeeping in general when it comes to my expected deliverables. Taking calculated and appropriate risks when necessary is something I also take back.”
Pictured: Aker Solutions (above with awards) working on their project and delivering its presentation.
ECITB Chief Executive Andrew Hockey, who was on hand to give out prizes to the winners, said: “Congratulations to Aker Solutions Ltd and all the teams that took part in what is a high-pressure competition testing a range of project management skills. I’d also like to thank the respective employers for supporting their teams.
“The ACTIVE Cup is a hugely popular competition that welcomes delegates from companies across all engineering construction industry sectors – it was so popular this time that we even had a waiting list.
“Project management competence is a fundamental foundation in the effective delivery of projects across our industry.
“Developing the workforce for net zero is a key objective in our Leading Industry Learning Strategy and this involves making sure we have project management capability to work in a more collaborative and connected way.
“By putting on practical events like this, the ECITB is helping ensure the industry and our employers across the ECI have the project management skills needed to run projects.
“I would encourage anyone that has not participated before to consider doing so in the future so that they too can benefit from this fantastic experience.”
Pictured: Altrad won the gold award as one of the runners-up at the event after giving a presentation at Cranfield University
The second ACTIVE Cup event of 2025 takes place in Scotland at Carnoustie Golf Hotel, north of Dundee, from Monday 3 to Wednesday 5 March 2025, with entries now closed for this competition.
The ACTIVE Cup is part of the ECITB’s wider project management training programmes aimed at raising skill levels within the ECI.
Find out more about the ECITB’s Project Management programmes
