April 14, World Steel Association (Worldsteel) announced the new world champions of the 20th steelChallenge in Berlin, Germany. HBIS competitors, Wang Yang and Ge Lei, won the industry category and student category world champion titles. Since 2017, HBIS competitors have won eight champions in industry category and three champions in student categories. HBIS Chairman Liu Jian, Worldsteel Chairman U?ur DALBELER and Worldsteel Director General Edwin Basson attending the award presenting ceremony.

For the 2026 edition, the World Championship adopted an enhanced format designed to deepen technical analysis and strengthen the overall learning experience. Participants were challenged to solve a new case study using steeluniversity’s electric arc furnace (EAF) simulator, focusing on optimising steel production under strict operational and sustainability constraints. The competition required participants to develop and refine their production strategies using a structured set of tools, including an official calculation spreadsheet, reflecting real-world decision-making processes in modern steelmaking. The format emphasized precision, efficiency and a strong understanding of raw material optimization, while maintaining carbon footprint requirements aligned with the industry’s decarbonization goals.

The Worldsteel SteelChanllenge steel making Simulation is a unique worldwide simulation competition. Once a year, top performers from the Regional Championship across both the industry and student categories compete for the global title.

Wang Yang, HBIS, once won the third prize of "Shangang Cup" National Online Work Safety Knowledge Competition for Employees in the Iron and Steel Industry, Tangshan City Employee Vocational Skills Competition Skilled Technician Title and Tangsteel Skill Champion Title. Ge Lei, from Tangshan Vocational College of Science & Technology, Material Engineering Department, has won the National Encouragement Scholarship and School-level Merit Student Titles.