Finalists of steelChallenge-12 Industry Contest Announced

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The World Steel Association (worldsteel) has announced the list of finalists of the 12^th edition of steelChallenge- the biggest industry competition. The regional championships to select the finalists were held on 29^th November, 2017.

The regional level competition, covering four regions- North & South America; Europe, CIS, Middle East and Africa; Asia and Oceania excluding China and China- of the latest edition of steelChallenge attracted 1,515 participants from as many as 50 countries. They were given the task of producing a grade of steel that meet certain technical requirements in the most cost-efficient manner. The participants were allowed to undertake unlimited runs of simulation during the competition period which was limited to within 24 hours. The winners were selected by ranking the competitors based on their 3 best runs. Out of the 1,515 participants, 736 managed to complete at least one run of the simulation. The competition recorded a total of 7,866 successfully completed runs.

The finalists from ‘Student’ Category are: Anže Bajželj, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia; Jamil Nobre de Castro, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Brazil; Park EunSung, Chon Buk National University, South Korea; Zhaopeng Zeng, Chongqing University of Science & Technology, China and Shijun Zhang, Chongqing University of Science & Technology, China.

Meantime, the finalists from ‘Industry’ Category are: Stevo Akkerman, Tata Steel Europe, the Netherlands; Francisco Alberto Rocha, Gerdau, Brazil; Ho Yeon, POSCO, South Korea; Huan Ma, China Baowu Steel Group Corporation Limited, China and Xiaoyu Tan, HBIS Group Co., Ltd, China.

The finalists will now compete in the second and final round of the competition which will be held in Mumbai, India on 10, April, 2018. All finalists will be awarded certificates, cash prizes and iPad in addition to trip expenses. The World Champions in both the ‘Student’ and ‘Industry’ categories will be awarded World Champion certificate, additional cash prize and the steelChallenge trophy. The award ceremony of the HBIS Group Co. Ltd.-sponsored competition will be attended by eminent leaders from the global steel industry.

The yearly competition is held with the intention of inspiring and motivating students and steel industry people about the value of working in the steel industry to lead change for realizing a more sustainable industry that serves a more sustainable world.

worldsteel represents over 160 steel producers, national and regional steel industry associations, and steel research institutes. worldsteel members account for around 85% of world steel production.