High School Rules
By registering for steelChallenge-21 for High Schools, you agree to the following rules:
| 1.0 | Participants | These rules apply to high school students participating in the High School challenge. University students and industry participants are subject to the university student and industry rules. |
| 1.1 | Requisites | The competition is for individuals who are enrolled in studies at an accredited academic institution at the time of the registration period, up to the time of the Regional Championship. |
| 1.2 | Teams | In the spirit of fostering teamwork, participation in steelChallenge-21 for High Schools is in teams of up to two participants per team. Both members of the team must attend the same academic institution. |
| 1.3 | Previous Champions | Participants who were awarded as Regional or National Champions in previous steelChallenge competitions are not eligible to participate in steelChallenge-21. |
| 1.4 | Russian Federation | Due to sanctions in place with respect to the Russian Federation, citizens and residents of the Russian Federation are not eligible to register and compete in steelChallenge-21. |
| 2.0 | The Challenge | steelChallenge-21 will utilise steeluniversity’s Electric Arc Furnace simulator. The simulator will be made available for practise prior to the competition.
Competitors are tasked to produce a grade of steel meeting technical requirements at the lowest cost per tonne. A grade of steel specifically designed for steelChallenge-21 will be used in the Regional Championship. Note the simulation is a simplified model of complex real-life processes and therefore will inevitably contain some deviation from actual operating practices and outcomes. |
| 2.1 | Runs | Competitors may undertake up to a maximum of 150 ‘runs’ of the Electric Arc Furnace simulator during the 24-hour competition period.
A ‘run’ starts with initiation of the Electric Arc Furnace simulator and will count towards the maximum allowable ‘runs’ regardless of whether the ‘run’ is successful. A ‘successful run’ is concluded when the simulation has completed, meeting the simulation criteria for the case study, the result has been registered in the competition database, and the competitor has received a confirmation of successful completion. The single best ‘successful run’ of each competitor will be used to determine their score and placement in the Regional Championship. Therefore, to qualify as Regional Champion, at least one ‘successful run’ must be successfully completed. |
| 3.0 | Registration | Each competitor must register for steelChallenge-21 on the steeluniversity website. Registration will be open until the end of the Regional Championship at 12.00 UTC on 18 November 2026.
To complete the registration, each individual must provide their name, organisation, country of residence, email, and telephone number. Each competitor is assigned to a competition region based on the country of residence provided. The country of residence should reflect where the competitor is normally based at the time of the Regional Championship. |
| 3.1 | Registration Process | Participants first need to log in to their steeluniversity website account. If the participant does not have an account, they need to create one.
After logging in to their account, the participant then registers for steelChallenge-21. After registration, the participant will receive an email to confirm their registration in steelChallenge-21. If the confirmation email is not received, contact steeluniversity via email at support@steeluniversity.org. Participants from organisations who use steeluniversity’s steelHub application may also be able to register directly through their organisation’s Learning Management System. |
| 3.2 | Identity verification | Either during the registration process or at a later time before the start of the competition, each individual will be required to go through an identity verification process. This process includes, but it is not limited to, the verification of the phone number and the validation of an identification document issued by the government (ID card, passport). |
| 3.3 | Faculty Advisor | Students who work with a faculty advisor may declare the name of the advisor during registration and up to any time until the start of the Regional Championship. The faculty advisor must be an active teacher on the staff of the academic institution where the student is enrolled at the time of the Regional Championship. worldsteel may request proof of the faculty advisor’s status with the academic institution.
Declaration of the faculty advisor is required for the faculty advisor to be eligible for recognition by steeluniversity. The faculty advisor must be declared in the student’s registration profile prior to the start of the steelChallenge-21 Regional Championship to be eligible for the prizes. Declaration, or substitution, of the faculty advisor after the Regional Championship has started will not be accepted. |
| 3.4 | Multiple Registrations | Each competitor may register only once for steelChallenge-21. Competitors found to have registered multiple times (e.g. with different email addresses) will be disqualified. |
| 3.5 | False Information | Any competitor who provides false information during steelChallenge-21 (e.g., providing a false name during registration) will be disqualified. |
| 3.6 | Fee | The fee for registration is €4.99 (plus VAT if applicable to those people located in the European Union). Partnerships with steel companies and associations allow students to be sponsored through free registration.
The registration fee must be paid prior to participation in the Regional Championship. There is no refund of the registration fee. |
| 3.7 | Promo Codes | Sponsors of steelChallenge-21 are provided with an allotment of ‘promo codes’ for registration. Recipients of a promo code from a sponsor may register for steelChallenge and use the code to bypass the registration fee payment process. |
| 4.0 | Regional Championship | Competitors registered for steelChallenge-21 will compete in the Regional Championship. The regions for steelChallenge-21 are:
The Regional Championship will take place over a 24-hour period starting from 12.00 UTC on 17 November 2026. |
| 4.1 | Internet Access | Competitors should ensure they have a good quality and stable internet connection to participate in steelChallenge-21.
steeluniversity shall undertake best efforts to ensure the competition is accessible via its websites and servers. steeluniversity shall not accept responsibility for lack of access to the website due to any internet issues beyond our control. |
| 4.2 | Simulation Play | Each competitor must log in via steeluniversity’s website at www.steeluniversity.org or access from their organisation’s Learning Management System to participate in the Regional Championship. |
| 4.3 | Simultaneous Run | Each competitor may only have a single login active at any given time and may only run the simulation in a single browser window at any given time.
Runs made simultaneously by the same competitor will be disqualified. The two competitors on a team may run the simulation simultaneously. |
| 4.4 | Audit of Results | Upon conclusion of the Regional Championship, steeluniversity will audit the results to validate successful runs of the simulation. This may take up to 7 days. The time to audit results may be extended upon request of the Audit Team. |
| 4.5 | Regional Champions | The top participant in each region will be considered for the Regional Champions title.
Candidates will be contacted within the auditing period to confirm their country of residence, affiliation, and eligibility for the competition and the category they selected. This confirmation is required to be completed within 24 hours of being contacted by steeluniversity. In the event a participant is deemed not eligible, provides false or incomplete information, or fails to respond to the confirmation in time, the participant will be disqualified and the next highest ranked competitor in the region will be considered for the Regional Champion title. If the participant complies with all requirements, they will be awarded the Regional Champion title. |
| 5.0 | Prizes | Prizes will be awarded to the qualified Regional Champions. The prize breakdown is:
All participants receive:
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| 5.1 | Regional Champions | Regional Champions will receive:
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| 5.2 | Faculty Advisors | Faculty advisors of student participants who qualify as Regional Champions are eligible for the following prizes:
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| 5.3 | Academic institutions | The academic institution of the Regional Champions receives a trophy. |
| 6.0 | Schedule | The summary of the competition schedule is:
Regional Championship
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| 7.0 | Fair Play | Simulation results which exploit unexpected and/or unrealistic behaviours in the simulator code will be considered invalid. Any attempt to modify the simulator code will result in disqualification from steelChallenge-21. |
| 7.1 | Notification | Competitors who discover an unexpected and/or unrealistic behaviour in the simulator code, during the competition or the practice period, may contact steeluniversity to request a judgement on whether the behaviour is permissible. Contact steeluniversity by email at support@steeluniversity.org.
During the Regional Championship, a response will be provided within 2 hours. |
| 7.2 | Enhancement | The purpose of steelChallenge is to encourage the development of fundamental ferrous metallurgy knowledge.
Use of computational techniques to optimise simulator performance is not permitted. For example, using computer code to run the simulators thousands of times to optimise the output is not allowed. A participant found to violate this rule will be disqualified. |
| 8.0 | Disputes | steeluniversity shall endeavour to resolve any disputes arising from the competition. Decisions of steeluniversity shall be final. |
| 9.0 | Language | Registration for steelChallenge-21, the competition rules and the simulator used in the Regional Championship will be available in English, Chinese (simplified), Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Arabic, and Tamil.
All other aspects of the competition, including support, will be conducted in English. The English language version of the Rules shall be definitive. |
| 10.0 | Personal Information | By registering for steelChallenge-21, competitors agree the personal information provided may be used by World Steel Association, its members, and sponsors of steelChallenge-21 to analyse the outcomes of the competition, to promote the competition, and to be contacted with respect to this competition.
For more detail about the treatment of personal information, refer to the World Steel Association privacy policy available at https://www.worldsteel.org/global/privacy-policy.html. |
| 11.0 | Support | Questions about steelChallenge-21 may be directed to support@steeluniversity.org. |