In 2005, André Oliveira graduated in Management Informatics at Universidade Portucalense. During his studies he worked at the university, as a fellow, repairing computers at the level of ‘hardware’ and ‘software’. He was responsible for the “Universia” room and also participated actively in the Students’ Association. I only knew what a vacation was a few years ago. Today he is a “Developer” at the Canadian multinational CGI.

His career has centered on the “broad spectrum coder”, but reveals that “one day he would like to work in project management, have a professional experience abroad, if possible in London, and“ put technology and innovation at the service of projects with a positive impact on society ”.

At the University, he understood that “there is always a lot to learn and that the course does not provide solutions, but tools to achieve them”. He tells us that his life motto is “not to be stopped, because as the saying goes, stop is to die” and, for this reason, he has always been and is involved in multiple activities.

He studied drums and percussion at the Porto Jazz School and the Porto Music Conservatory. He says that music taught him “to be attentive, to know how to listen, to be a better spectator because it is also important to have an audience that knows how to listen mainly”.

Despite the fact that Informatics and Information Technologies are at the base of his professional specialization, André Oliveira has always tried to “enter” other areas of knowledge, through reading and participating in conferences. In 2009, attending a workshop, he met Carlo Van Tichelen, strategic marketing consultant, who introduced him to JCI – Junior Chamber International, an international association of young people aged between 18 and 40, specialized in the development of Leadership and Entrepreneurship and promotion of Citizenship.

His entry into the JCI Portugal association allowed him to travel the world – Turkey, Spain, Romania, Luxembourg, Japan, Monaco – to participate in academies and represent the country. In 2011, for example, he traveled to Japan, where he joined the JCI Leadership Academy. For a week he learned the “sense of community” and proved that “group energy is transformative” with around 70 delegates from all over the world.

This year, André was elected president of JCI Portugal and will represent the country, in November, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at the world congress that will involve more than 6000 participants from more than 80 countries.

He considers that he has a “natural aptitude to lead people, coordinate processes and enhance individual and collective talent”. He understands that “being a good leader involves knowing the team’s players well and launching challenges and objectives that fill their measures, because only then is remuneration seen as compensation and not a stimulus”.

For those looking to enter the job market, André leaves a piece of advice to be successful: “identify opportunities and focus on solutions, not problems”.