News

The history and the DNA of QRP

Exactly 20 years ago, on a hot July day, our CEO Coos heard a strange noise coming from behind him. Wondering what it was, he looked around the small mediaeval flat on the walls of Bergamo's old town that he had rented when he decided to move to Italy. The strange noise came from the fax machine: he had just received his first ever registration for a PRINCE2 course!

After Coos organised his first PRINCE2 course (in Italian!) he decided to rent an office and to hire his first intern, a young university student by the name of Michelangelo, the current Chief Operating Officer of QRP International. This was the start of a team of 25 employees, with dedicated departments like operations, finance, marketing and sales growing over the years.

In 2006 already 1,000 people were trained by QRP International, and in 2008 the first million in revenues was celebrated. A specific market strategy for Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg and Switzerland was developed and these countries became the core of QRP International. In 2015 QRP started a dedicated blog on different topics related to Project, IT Service Management, Agile and Change Management that now reaches more than 200,000 annual visits. In 2020 we also started offering virtual classes due to Covid, besides the more traditional live classroom format.

Through all these years our main goal has been and still is to develop professionals to facilitate changes, which inspires our team and forms the value proposition of our company.

We cannot repeat our Core Values often enough:

1. We do our utmost to make our clients happy 2. We enjoy working together as a team 3. We keep our word 4. We are committed to our professional development

Awesome QRP Initiatives and Fun Facts about the Team

Besides organizing courses and developing professionals, QRP International also has devoted its time to charity. We strive to give back to our community by making a positive impact on society. QRP contributes €1 euro for each person trained in the fiscal year.

With regards to one of our team building activities, QRP has called into life the QRP Days. Born in 2007, the QRP Days bring the full team together for a day or two with the aim of learning from each other. During these days we also invite our trainers around the world to come visit us in Italy so we can get to know each other better. In this way, we live our values together.

And then some Fun Facts about the Team! We work with 75 trainers worldwide, we have count 9 different nationalities in our QRP office and we welcome new employees by treating the whole team to a brioche. Recently we organized a table-soccer competition during lunch breaks, and we go for a coffee walk every day after lunch. Real insider tip: did you know that the most common QRP zodiac sign is a Capricorn?

QRP’s Future

At QRP we work continuously to help professionals improve their skills and support both organisations as individuals throughout their learning journey.Our mission is to help clients when they are tired of losing time and money on their projects and processes. Our training courses can help unlock individual potential and achieve a higher level of structure and efficiency in the organisation, leading to an increased productivity.

In order to do so, we plan to expand our business beyond the countries that are already operational and to establish a presence in other mature markets across Europe. We stay close to our Core Values, both for working with our clients as for the relationship with our own employees. Through great social initiatives that keep developing, we continuously value having fun together as a team; we only just established our QRP Social Committee! We’re just getting started…

As in 2023 we celebrate our 20th anniversary, we are grateful that we had the opportunity to work with many great clients and help many professionals achieve their goals. We look forward to continuing this journey of providing the highest quality training solutions to our clients, and to contribute to their ongoing success.

For our 20 years of success we have to thank not only our clients but especially our trainers which lead us in a bright future and make us such a competitive business.

Do you know who is behind QRP? Meet our team and follow us on Linkedin!

Are you looking for a light, lean, concrete and equipped project methodology? Participate in our webinar and discover PM², the European Commission's project management method. PM² is a flexible and modular project management methodology that can be adapted according to the needs of any project. It consists of three main phases: initiation, planning and execution. The methodology also includes monitoring and evaluation activities to ensure the project’s quality. PM² is designed for use in projects of all sizes and complexities. It is particularly suitable for projects that involve multidisciplinary teams and external partners, such as research and development projects. To help project management professionals better understand and apply the PM² methodology, we are hosting a free webinar available in four different languages. This webinar will cover the main concepts and practices of PM².

PM² Project Management: harmonisation and united in diversity - Webinar

We invited our experts Natacha Brenner (EN/FR/DE) & Eusebio Gianodomenico (IT) to host the webinar. In just 30 minutes the webinar aims to provide an overview of the PM² methodology and seeks to clarify what makes the methodology stand out. Our experts will highlight the advantages of using PM² in an interactive way. Questions and active participation are encouraged! Choose your language and register to one of our webinars:

ENGLISH - May 11, 2023 11:00 AM

"PM² Project Management: harmonisation and united in diversity"

GERMAN - May 30, 2023 11:00 AM

"PM²: Harmonisierung und geeint in der vielfalt"

ITALIAN - June 13, 2023 11:00 AM

"PM² Project Management: armonia ed unità nella diversità"

FRENCH - June 15, 2023 11:00 AM

"Gestion de projet PM² : harmonisation et solidarité dans la diversité"

Starting from 2023, PeopleCert announced that all Global Best Practice certifications will need to be renewed after three years. This way PeopleCert can assist candidates in their lifelong journey and inspire them to keep on developing their professional skills. Besides retaking the same exam or taking further courses and certifications, the third option is collecting and logging CPD (Continuing Professional Development) points.

How to log your CPD Points each year

You can further develop your professional skills by logging CPD points through the MyAxelos portal. To keep your current certifications valid, CPD points can be logged against an individual or multiple certifications. For each Product Suite, candidates must submit at least 20 CPD points each year, across different categories of CPD, for three years consecutively. At the end of this period, your certification renew-by date will be extended by three years, and the cycle will repeat. These points must be submitted by the date on which you originally passed your most recent exam within the Product Suite. For example, if you originally passed the exam on 1st April, your 20 CPD points must be logged by 1st April each year.

What are the PeopleCert Product Suites?

Renewing a certification can be done within the same product suite. An ITIL® 4 certification will not be renewed by obtaining a PRINCE2® certification, but could be renewed by taking any other ITIL 4 certification, such as ITIL 4 Specialist: Create, Deliver and Support. Product suites are as follows:

• ITIL 4 Product Suite: All ITIL 4 certifications
• Project, Programme & Portfolio Management Product Suite: PRINCE2®, PRINCE2® Agile, MoR®, MSP®, MoV®, MoP®, P3O®

What are the different categories of CPD points?

Below you can find some examples (a more extensive overview can be found on the PeopleCert website):

• Professional experience: applying best practice in the workplace or coaching colleagues in relation to best practice
• Professional education: PeopleCert certifications or other certifications from non-PeopleCert accredited training organisations
• Community: organising or attending industry or best practice related events

For any questions, please reach out to us anytime or have a look at PeopleCert’s website.

From the 14th to the 27th November 2022 we offer you a 30% discount on all our E-learning courses!         Have a look at our E-learning offer and choose between:  

6 good reasons to choose the E-Learning platform

1. Explanatory videos Our experts have cooked up a series of clear and interactive videos to teach you the method, help you pass your exam(s), and apply it to your projects.
2. Interactive readings The interactive readings further explain some key concepts. You can use these readings if you are interested in learning more about the recommended actions when applying the method.
3. Mock exam questions In each lesson you will find a number of multiple choice questions to simulate the real exam experience.
4. 6 months access minimum Take the time you need: You will have access to the online learning platform for 6 to 10 months (depending on the online course). Within these months you can set your own schedule and divide the course as you like.
5. MemoTrainer QRP uses the MemoTrainer™ system designed to challenge learners by selective repetition and smart exercises to activate knowledge and stimulate long term memory.
6. Tutor support Our elearning solution is based on an easy structure and meant to be self explanatory. Even so, every participant is unique and to make sure that you feel confident with every next step of your study approach you can contact your tutor if you have any questions about the lessons you just covered.

The offer is valid from the 14th to the 27th of November and is limited to 3 E-learning packages per company. Do you have further questions? Contact us or visit our page!

At a time of unprecedented change, organisations are challenged by an extraordinary pace of technological innovation. Agile product delivery is needed, but is not enough anymore. Companies need business agility. This means that all departments need to use Lean and Agile practices to continually and proactively deliver innovative business solutions in a fast and efficient way. SAFe®, an enterprise framework for scaling agile, has the guidance to help organisations get there. It is an agility framework at scale, which means that instead of having an agile team it will imply an agile transformation for the complete organisation.

Leading SAFe

QRP International is now a Scaled Agile Bronze Transformation Partner. We offer the Leading SAFe training, which prepares for the SAFe 5 Agilist certification.

The Leading SAFe course enables attendees to lead a Lean-Agile enterprise successfully into the adoption of the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe). After an introduction to SAFe, the training provides the best practises and methods to drive your Lean-Agile transformation.

Thanks to SAFe 5.0, your organisation can become the Agile business it needs to be and win in the digital age.

Why could SAFe be the best choice for you?

If you want to become a lean-agile leader, SAFe could be the best solution for you. The framework is well suited to complex projects with many teams involved. Some of the benefits of the framework:

• It guarantees the technical agility of teams
• It makes it easier to drive and support organisational change
• It leverages the benefits of Agile, Scrum, Lean, DevOps and Kanban
• It can support you in managing your projects with a higher degree of agility, thus providing stakeholders with faster feedback
• The SAFe certification is recognized worldwide

Want to know more? Visit our page: SAFe certification For any further questions you can contact us directly here: switzerland@qrpinternational.com

Take advantage of -30% on your favorite courses! Discount valid from the 15th till the 30th of November 2021. As every year, Black Friday takes place around the world the day after American Thanksgiving: in 2021, it is therefore Friday, November 26 that this great day of promotions falls. This year has been difficult enough for everyone and we have decided to take the opportunity to offer you a 30% reduction on some of our training courses.

Virtual classroom

• ITIL Foundation German: December 13-14-15-16, 2021 => 753 CHF instead of 1075 CHF
• ITIL Foundation French: January 17-18-19-20, 2022 => 805 CHF instead of 1150 CHF
• ITIL Foundation English: February 8-9-10-11, 2022 => 805 CHF instead of 1150 CHF
• PRINCE2 Foundation English: January 24-25-26-27-28, 2022 => 875 CHF instead of 1250 CHF
• PRINCE2 Foundation French: 24-25-26-27-28 January 2022 => 875 CHF instead of 1250 CHF
• PRINCE2 Combi English: 24-25-26-27-28 January 2022 – 16-17-18 February 2022 => 1505 CHF instead of 2150 CHF
• PRINCE2 Combi French: January 24-25-26-27-28 – February 9-10-11, 2022 => 1505 CHF instead of 2150 CHF
• AgilePM Foundation English: January 18-19-20-21, 2022 => 805 CHF instead of 1150 CHF
• AgilePM Foundation French: January 18-19-20-21, 2022 => 805 CHF instead of 1150 CHF

E-learning

• PRINCE2 Combi English => 809 CHF instead of 1155 CHF
• PRINCE2 Combi French => 809 CHF instead of 1155 CHF

97% of decision makers and 84% of individuals said obtaining certification had a positive impact, improving efficiency and employee satisfaction, so what are you waiting for? It is time to have some fun and end 2021 on a high note!