AVEVA Announces European and North America Winners of its 6th Chemical Engineering Student-Focused Annual Process Simulation Competition

The 6th edition recognized students based in Europe and North America who showed great talent in addressing a hydrogen-focused sustainability challenge

London, United Kingdom, March 25, 2024 – AVEVA, a global leader in industrial software, driving digital transformation and sustainability, has announced the winners of its 6th Annual Process Simulation Academic Competition. For chemical engineering students, the competition provides an exceptional opportunity to enrich their process simulation skills using the latest technology. Producing and transporting hydrogen in a manner that is both clean and sustainable was the theme of this year’s edition. Participants were able to engage with cutting-edge concepts and contributed to the advancement of eco-conscious practices.
The 2023 AVEVA Academic Competition attracted more than 300 entries. A total of 48 teams, and 121 individual students from 54 universities across North America and Europe entered the event.
The competition submissions went through a multi-level selection process and were reviewed by a judging panel comprised of AVEVA technical specialists for 4 categories:

• “Best Overall” rewards the winner with $3,000 or the opportunity to take internship with AVEVA
• “Best Steady State Simulation” with a $1,000 reward for the winner
• “Best Economics Optimization” with a $1,000 reward for the winner
• “Best Design and Optimization” with a $1,000 reward for the winner

And the winners of the 2023 competition are:

In Europe:

• Best Overall: Seonggyun Kim - KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden)

“I decided to participate in the competition to gain experience in real-world problem-solving in chemical engineering, as well as to learn a new process simulation tool. I thoroughly enjoyed using AVEVA Process Simulation (APS) software—it is, by far, one of the most elegant process simulation programs I have used in terms of overall usability, speed, efficiency, and extensibility. The problems in the competition were well-formulated and challenging, both academically and creatively, to a reasonable extent. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to showcase and further advance my expertise in process engineering, hydrogen economy, and technical communication.”

• Best Steady State Simulation: Alejandra Marquez Marvizon - University of Seville (Spain)

“When I first saw the announcement for the AVEVA simulation contest, I saw it as a fantastic opportunity to apply what I've learned in my studies to real-world problems, and it definitely lived up to that expectation. Using AVEVA's simulation software for the first time was surprisingly straightforward, and winning the first part of the contest was truly unexpected but incredibly rewarding. I'm grateful to AVEVA for organizing such an enriching competition and for providing us with simulations that tackle current issues, like the use of renewable hydrogen for ammonia production. I also want to acknowledge the University of Seville for equipping me with the knowledge and skills necessary to participate in such competitions. This experience has not only boosted my confidence but has also reinforced my passion for chemical engineering. I look forward to applying the insights gained from this competition to future projects in the field.”

• Best Economics Optimization: the team of Flavio Francalanci and Andrea Fiaschi -  University of Pise (Italy)

“Aveva academic competition was both challenging and fun. Each part of the competition required us to tackle new challenges, striving to find innovative solutions. It was different from school projects because we had no idea about the possible output and results, forcing us to be as creative as we could. We were able to explore process solutions and alternatives thanks to APS. The software was easy to learn and really intuitive to use, especially for running process optimizations and minimization of costs - which is usually the tough part - during the second milestone of the competition.
The fact that we participated as a team was another positive fact that made the competition even more fascinating. In short, it was a fun and educational experience that allowed us to develop new skills in the field of simulation”.

• Best Design and Optimization: Somtochukwu Anyaorah - University of Applied Sciences of Muenster (Germany)

"Quite remarkable is the steep learning curve of the AVEVA Process Simulation software. As a first-time user of the software, only a short amount of time was needed to familiarize myself with the user interface and the rich features packed in the software. This gave me enough room to focus on addressing the challenge. The support tools and examples accompanying the program were of tremendous help during the challenge.
My sincere gratitude to the organizers of this completion and AVEVA for this ample opportunity."

In North America:

• Best Overall: Ohsung Lee - University of Calgary (Canada)

“It was my honor to join this AVEVA process simulation competition. I'm very excited that I received the overall best design award. During this competition, I was able to increase my insight into optimization and design using AVEVA Process Simulation. It is so valuable to university students to have this kind of opportunity. It helped to prepare to what companies could expect from me as a chemical engineer, and I was able to gain confidence as I overcame the challenges I dealt with while preparing for the deliverables.
I think the design of the competition is well-organized as each deliverable required for each part lead toward the final goal. I want to thank Richard for the great tutorial videos about APS as I learned a lot about what each function does on APS. The program itself was user-friendly with a clean UI and easy to learn.”

• Best Steady State Simulation: The team of Owen Gerdes, Brian Lauerman, Hunter Hardway and Joshua Swecker - West Virginia University (USA)

“The WVU AVEVA Competition Team had a great time competing and learning over the past three months while being involved in the North America AVEVA Academic Competition. The competition provided us an opportunity to expand upon our process simulation knowledge in a competitive and fun environment. We embraced the challenge and opportunity of learning a software that the team was unfamiliar with. Not only did the competition provide an excellent opportunity to expand upon our skills, but it fostered a fun and relaxed environment in which we could apply and showcase the skills we have acquired throughout our time at West Virginia University. We would like to express our gratitude for the opportunity AVEVA has created for aspiring students like ourselves. It was a real pleasure learning and competing in the North America AVEVA Academic Competition!”

• Best Economics Optimization: The team of Axel Bernal Ruiz; Frida Sofía González Martínez - Insituto Politecnico Nacional (Mexico)

As up-and-coming chemical engineers, addressing a real-world sustainability problem and achieving Best Economics Optimization Simulation is a huge milestone for our careers. The competition posed a challenge since it meant stepping out of our comfort zone and familiarizing ourselves with a simulator we have never used before while applying the knowledge acquired during our time in Instituto Politécnico Nacional, ESIQIE to solve the problems presented to us. Without a doubt, the simulation skills and problem-solving strategies developed during the competition, as well as the acquirement of engineering expertise will be invaluable resources to us in the future as we progress.
We are especially proud of this achievement, knowing that this is the first time in the history of this competition that Mexico is eligible for participation. Seeing our school and country among the places for best simulations instills confidence in our abilities and motivates us to keep improving. We hope that this achievement will give further insight for this specific problem and that it will inspire the bright minds of chemical engineering students in Mexico to participate in the future. We would like to thank AVEVA for this opportunity and our friends, family, and professors for motivating us to take on this challenge.”

• Best Design and Optimization: The team of Tyler Cedres, Benjamin Tang, Jesse B. Williams and Roy S. Mouawad - California State Polytechnic University Pomona (USA)

“The AVEVA Academic Competition has been both a challenging, yet fun experience for all of us. A strong emphasis of this competition revolved around hydrogen, which is one of the most promising energy sources going into the future, and it very much felt as though we were given the tools to learn about how we could begin making an impact on the industry. From simulating electrolyzers, scaling up production processes, and even comparing pipeline simulations, APS provided us with a wide variety of resources and perspectives on relevant engineering topics. Ultimately, this has been a rewarding experience in which our university’s “learn by doing” motto was highlighted to the greatest extent.” 

Mihaela Hahne, Sr Director Sales Development – Academia, AVEVA said: “This year, we were truly astounded by the exceptional submissions from the students. It fills me with immense joy to witness the remarkable potential within our young engineers, affirming that the future of engineering shines brightly. Through AVEVA's competition, students had the privilege to wield the very tools utilized by industry giants in the chemical sector. Today, we proudly extend our congratulations to the outstanding winners from North America and Europe! The bar has been set high, and they have certainly risen to the occasion.”

Entries for the 7th edition will be announced this summer.