Apr. 17 – A “bridge” to ease students into the working world. The University of Padua was recently in Brussels for the Jade Spring Meeting of 2014, a meeting between all Junior Enterprises of Europe, which awarded the Excellence Awards to the most innovative ideas to develop managerial and entrepreneurial skills. “Becoming Manager,” designed and developed by JEst – the Industrial Engineering and Management students of the University of Padua – was judged the best European project in the “Most creative and innovative project” category, beating the French Junior ESC Grenoble and other teams from 17 countries. The Becoming Manager project was designed by JEst in collaboration with the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems. The project seeks to increase interactions between companies and students: the company enters into direct contact with brilliant and resourceful students, while students face the working world dynamically, and quickly find opportunities for internships and employment.