Nipro on the Move started off as a small informal initiative with colleagues in Belgium challenging one another to remain active during the ‘dark months’ and resist the winter gloom. This was such a success that a formal challenge was launched on an app - My Virtual Mission – in 2021. In that edition, Nipro traveled (virtually) all the way from our European HQ in Belgium to our HQ in Japan.
Latest challenge in 2023:
- Cover 18,000 km virtually in 30 days by engaging in various sports mentioned on the app.
- Route started from South Africa to Turkey, passing through our branches along the way.
- Most importantly, Nipro would contribute to a cause.
"Three charities were shortlisted based on their broad range and international reach: vulnerable children (UNICEF), international medical support (Doctors Without Borders), and environmental concerns (Go Forest). These are three themes that are close to Nipro and resonate well with our international workforce".
Participants could vote for their favorite charity towards which the contribution would go. We reached 90% of our initial target (18,000 km) in 30 days, so Nipro will donate 4,500 euro to Doctors without Borders (a good cause that received 47% of the votes).
Stiff competition and a winning strategy
There was stiff competition coming from within Nipro Digital Technologies Europe (NDTE). Meet Jasper Van Gestel (Software Developer) and Pieter Vercruyce (Technical Support Specialist) – colleagues at NDTE who pushed each other’s buttons and cycled to become the top participants of Nipro on the Move.
Like most of us who lack the determination to keep going, Jasper, the winner of the latest Nipro on the Move, lost motivation in the first week of the challenge. “What got me going again were my colleagues. They motivated me to start again and to make sure I would win. You see, the first time I participated was in the 2022 edition and I lost narrowly to Pieter. So, this time I was back with a vengeance. That's also why I got off to a good start.” says Jasper.
But the plot thickens, “There were six days left and Pieter was ahead by only 300 km. If I wanted to win, Pieter could not know I was back in the game. I launched a surprise attack. Only right before the deadline did I upload 680 km of my activities. I kept it hidden from Pieter. As you can see, the sheer (friendly) rivalry between us is what got me to hang in there. I had also told other colleagues, friends, and family about my plan for redemption this year and I didn't want to lose face in front of them either. That's what motivated me to keep going.”
One for the books!
- 96 participants from 9 different countries
- Distance covered – 16,150 km (90% of our target)
- We passed by our offices in South Africa, Spain, Italy, France, UK, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, and Hungary, and we were on our way to Turkey.
- In total, Nipro employees clocked 2,304 activities for the challenge.
- Some of the sports practiced include cycling, walking, running, climbing, rowing, swimming, fitness, basketball, bouldering, aqua bike, badminton, boxing, weightlifting, circuit training, bootcamp, Pilates, paddle, soccer, dancing, squash, tennis, and yoga.
The top participants were all cyclists:
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Jasper Van Gestel (1,176 km)
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Pieter Vercruyce (1,017 km)
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Charlotte Leconte (879 km)
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Shirley Theva Rajoo (580 km)
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John Mulrine (556 km)
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Koen Vissers (510 km)
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Sam Van Praet (461 km)
Running and swimming were also activities which saw many participants.
Top runner – Shirley Thevarajoo from Nipro Medical South Africa covered 580.28 km.
Top swimmer – Ivan Smet (Nipro Europe Group Companies) was our number 1 swimmer with 70 km.
Impact of the mission
"Within Nipro, we value our employees and their health. Therefore, I believe Nipro on the Move is a great mission, as it encourages our employees to move together. Many of them go for walks with their family and friends, but some colleagues also organize walks and runs together. The platform made it possible for us to connect to other Nipro employees across the world, encouraging and challenging one another. And finally, Nipro rewarded all these efforts by making a donation to a good cause, selected by the participants."
Participants in the spotlight:
Nipro on the Move couldn’t have come at a better time for one of our top participants - Charlotte Leconte, our Sales Enablement Manager at Nipro Medical Europe. She had planned a trip along the Mediterranean coast, from Alicante (Spain) to Aix-en-Provence (France) – a total of 1,112 km.
"I wanted to do a solo trip on my bike over two weeks - a way to challenge myself for my 30th birthday. Luckily, this was at the same time as Nipro on the Move. Travelling alone and planning my progress day-by-day was a real learning experience. From challenging moments to complete euphoria, biking is an amazing way to discover countries - by yourself but also a way to meet amazing people along the way. I feel so grateful!."
As for Sam Van Praet, Product Manager Renal Care, a 30-day challenge was a piece of cake… in spring. For the longest time, football was his passion. Then, COVID hit and matches were no longer possible. So, in 2020, Sam and his friends challenged one another to a 30-day challenge. They would run a little over 5 km every day in April for 30 days, which resulted in 320 km. But, Sam wanted to compete with himself - so he repeated the 30-day challenge in 2021. However, due to injuries, Sam dropped the challenge in April 2022 and 2023.
“So, with Nipro on the Move, I grasped the opportunity to do my 2023 “30-day challenge” in November/December instead of April. I wanted to try and beat 2021-me, and I covered 452 km in 30 days.” Since 2020, Sam has taken to running on a regular basis. He says, “Nowadays, I am indeed a regular runner. I try, on average, to run at least 3 times a week to cover 40 km per week. Running daily to meet a certain goal gives me more energy, certainly mentally. The famous saying “mens sana in corpore sano” really applies to me, I really need to be active to feel mentally fit.”
Bart Van Bambost wants to encourage all Nipro employees to have this mentality. “In 2024, we aim to have at least 120 employees participating in the challenge, with participation from all the continents that we are active in. This is more than just about physical well-being through moving - it’s also about working towards a goal in a joint effort by employees from across our entities.”
7 continents, various sports - will this be the Nipro Olympics?
