How can the responsibilities for emergent phenomena, such as the weight or aerodynamics of a vehicle, be clearly assigned? The publication by 3DSE, VW and the Heinz Nixdorf Institute ‘Systems Engineering roles to handle emergent properties and behaviours in complex technical systems’, which won the ‘Best Paper’ award, provides the answers. The prize winners were Dipl.-Ing. Nicolas Meyrl (Volkswagen AG), M.Sc. Florian Hintz (3DSE Management Consultants GmbH) M.Sc. Jan Pfeifer and Prof. Dr.-Ing. Iris Gräßler (Heinz Nixdorf Institute).