Choose Your Path. Create Impact. Drive Sustainable Innovation
Are you ready to make a real impact? This is your chance to lead the way in addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges. Select one of the five powerful themes below each offering a unique opportunity to innovate, inspire, and drive change.
Resource Efficiency
Optimize processes to significantly reduce energy, water, and feedstock consumption. Think smarter, cleaner, and leaner.
Energy Transition
Be a catalyst for change. Accelerate energy transition by creating new processes and technologies that accelerate the shift to low-carbon energy.
Circular Economy
Pioneer a circular economy by developing advanced recycling technologies and sustainable feedstocks.
Carbon Capture
Utilization & Storage
Develop and optimize technologies for capturing CO₂ emissions and converting them into valuable products or storing them safely.
Bio-Based
Feedstocks
Redesign production processes by integrating bioresources and alternative, sustainable raw materials.
Go Beyond and enhance your project with AspenTech’s AI- driven process simulation (Aspen AI Model Builder™) for extra credit. This not only gives you a competitive advantage but also a great opportunity to build and showcase your advanced skills.
Ready to join the challenge?
Challenge Guidelines
All the essential details you need to master the competition and claim your spot at the Global Showdown.
Eligibility
- Open to undergraduate and graduate (master’s level) students majoring in Chemical Engineering at an accredited university with an active aspenONE® for Academics license.
- Submissions may be made individually or in teams of up to three members
Key Dates
Registration Open
Oct 27 – Dec 12
Global Showdown
May 6, 2026
Key Dates
Project Submission
Dec 15 – March 20
Winners Announced
May 13, 2026
Key Dates
Judging Period
March 30 – Apr 30
Submission Requirements
- A conference-style poster summarizing your project and results
- Your AspenTech simulation files, showcasing your technical approach
- A 3–5-minute solution demo video presenting your challenge, solution strategy, and a walkthrough of your working simulation
Evaluation Criteria
Projects will be evaluated by a panel of AspenTech experts based on five key criteria, each worth 20 points, for a total possible score of 100.
Innovation
Present a creative and forward-thinking solution that clearly aligns with your chosen sustainability theme. Show how your idea contributes to meaningful progress and impact.
Impact
Demonstrate measurable social, environmental, or economic benefits. Use data and metrics to show emission reductions, resource efficiency, or market potential.
Feasibility
Prove your solution can work in the real world. Include analysis on scalability, cost, and implementation potential, supported by evidence or test results.
Creativity
Show how AspenTech tools bring your idea to life. Emphasize how process simulation, AI/ML, optimization, or analytics enhance your solution’s value.
Clarity
Communicate your project clearly and convincingly. Make it easy for judges to understand your challenge, your innovation, and the impact it can create.
Challenge Phases
Your path to becoming a global winner unfolds in two phases. All submitted projects will be reviewed and scored following the evaluation criteria to identify the highest-scoring entries.
PHASE 1
Country & Regional Selection
This phase identifies the top-performing projects that will advance to represent their regions in the final global finals.
1. Country Winner Selection:
The highest-scoring project from each participating country will be recognized as the country winner.
2. Regional Winner Selection:
From the pool of country winners, the project with the highest overall score in each region — APAC, EURA, LATAM, MENA, and NORAM — will be named the regional winner and move forward to Phase 2.
PHASE 2
Global Showdown
In this next phase the five regional winners will compete in a live, time-bound (~2 hrs.) virtual challenge.
The five regional winners will compete head-to-head in a virtual challenge solving a problem that showcases their process simulation skills using AspenTech software.
A panel of AspenTech experts will evaluate their solutions based on creativity, technical excellence, and impact to select the top three global winners.
Prizes
All participants who submit a project will receive a Certificate of Participation, celebrating their creativity, skill, and contribution to innovation.
All Winners Will Receive:
• A digital diploma
• A digital award badge for social media
• Recognition across AspenTech social media channels, giving your work global visibility
Global Winners will Receive:
• A commemorative trophy
• First place $1,000
• Second place $800
• Third place $500
• 4th and 5th Place will each receive $300
Your Path to Global Innovation Starts Now.