steelChallenge-16 World Champions Announcement
13 April 2022 | Brussels, Belgium. The World Steel Association (worldsteel) today announced the new World Champions of the 16th steelChallenge. Ruibin WANG from HBIS Group in China won in the industry category and Qichen LI from Tangshan Vocational College of Science and Technologyin China won in the student category.
The World Championship of the 16th steelChallenge took place online on 11 April 2022. The video of the ceremony is available below.
The competition was held remotely to follow social distancing guidelines from health authorities around the world and due to travel restrictions in some countries.
The 5 winners of the Regional Championship from each of the industry and student categories competed for the global title. The task was to produce a specific engineering steel grade at the lowest cost using steeluniversity’s Electric Arc furnace and Secondary Steelmaking courses in a combined simulation. New this year were carbon footprint requirements for the steel grade, included to reflect the steel industry’s commitment to reducing the footprint from its operations.
Jorge Muract, Director,steeluniversity for worldsteel, said, “steelChallenge-16 is the most prominent competition in the steel industry but also a learning experience that attracts thousands of students around the world. Congratulations to the World Champions and all of the finalists for their incredible work. All of you are the next generation of steel industry leaders in a complex world where steel accomplishes a crucial role in the sustainability and development of society.”
The 2022 World Champion in the industry category, Ruibin WANG said, “I’ve really enjoyed being part of steelChallenge and gaining more knowledge about steelmaking. This competition attracts a lot of participants and I’m delighted to be the industry World Champion.”
Qichen LI, the World Champion in the student category for 2022, said, “steelChallenge is an incredible opportunity to meet people around the world while learning about steelmaking. The World Championship was really hard and I’m very happy to be recognised as the champion in the student category. I encourage other students to join steelChallenge to gain more knowledge about steel in an exciting and engaging way.”
The Regional Champions receive the following prices:
- Certificates for completing the electric arc furnace and secondary steelmaking courses
- Certificate for being Regional Champion
- €500
- An additional €1,000 in lieu of travel to the world championship
- Recognition by worldsteel and steeluniversity
- Faculty advisors of the student champions also receive a €1,000 teaching award in lieu of travel to the world championship and a steeluniversity certificate of appreciation
Additionally, the World Champions receive the following prizes:
- €500
- World Champion certificate
- steelChallenge-16 trophy
All registered participants received access to the Electric Arc Furnace and Secondary Steelmaking courses, including e-learning, 3D interactive models and simulators. Registered participants completing the courses received completion certificates. Also, participants successfully completing a simulation run during steelChallenge-16 received a competition certificate.
World Championship Finalists – Industry Category
| Person | Region | Affiliation | Country |
| Timur Sabirovich Gaisin | Europe and Africa | TMK Group | Russia |
| Paula Renée de Macedo Costa | Americas | Companhia Siderúrgica do Pecém | Brazil |
| Krutidipta Sahu | Asia – West | Tata Steel Limited | India |
| Ruibin Wang (瑞宾王) | Asia – North | HBIS Group | China |
| Jingi Pyeon | Asia – East and Oceania | POSCO | South Korea |
World Championship Finalists – Student Category
| Person | Region | Affiliation | Country |
| Blaž Žerjav Jereb | Europe and Africa | University of Ljubljana | Slovenia |
| Dong-Hyun Kim | Americas | Polytechnique Montréal | Canada |
| Amit Kumar Bhuyan | Asia – West | Shavak Nanavati Technical Institute | India |
| Qichen Li (绮琛 ) | Asia – North | Tangshan Vocational and Technical College | China |
| Jongdoeck Lim | Asia – East and Oceania | Pukyong National University | South Korea |
steelChallenge-16 is generously sponsored by the following companies:
