Winners of INSEE-IESL Concrete Challenge announced

Advancing in both innovation and technicality, the annual competition this year saw the largest participation of universities to date. Team ‘Dark Horse’ from the University of Jaffna were awarded with the winners’ trophy.

The top three teams were rewarded based on strict judging criteria for ‘self-compacting concrete for sustainable construction’ with INSEE EXTRA. The winning team was comprised of Manivathanan Marimuththu, Kasthuri Selvarajasarma, Santha Suntharalingam Robiananth, Rajathurai Rajkumar, and Raveendren Nishantha. The team was awarded the grand prize of a guided educational tour to Vietnam, with visits scheduled to INSEE Cement and RMX Concrete manufacturing facilities.

Second place was awarded to ‘Team Kilometer’ from the Open University of Sri Lanka and third place went to ‘Team J’ from the University of Jaffna.

Beginning in June 2018, the challenge saw more than 100 five-member teams of final year civil engineering students at the state engineering universities of Moratuwa, Peradeniya, Ruhuna, Jaffna, South Eastern, and the Open University of Sri Lanka. The teams were tasked with producing an innovative winning concrete mix design for sustainable construction with INSEE EXTRA Cement. This cement is the country’s first flyash blended cement, first sulphate resistant cement certified by SLSI, and the first sulphate resistant low heat cement certified by British standards.

The apex body for professional engineers in Sri Lanka, IESL selected three five-member teams from each university for the final challenge. This was done by conducting internal competitions through the relevant IESL Student Chapters.

INSEE Cement has noted that it has taken measures to address the looming challenges faced by the construction industry, such as the rapid depletion and rising cost of raw material, a lag in technology adoption, and the shortage of skilled labour. The company is contributing towards elevating local construction standards through strategic, long-term investments in knowledge sharing and milestone public-private partnerships to up-skill critical stakeholder groups, including technical officers and masons. Through the encouragement and recognition of young engineers and innovators, supported by competitions such as the INSEE-IESL Concrete Challenge, the company has stated that it is also contributing towards nurturing a promising and stable future for the local construction industry.

The competition is set to continue next year, with heavy focus on green/sustainable concrete.

“With this, the fifth edition of the INSEE-IESL Concrete Challenge, we continue to champion INSEE Cement’s vision of building brighter futures by investing in the dissemination of knowledge and innovation-based learning,” said Jan Kunigk, Commercial Director and Executive Vice President at INSEE Cement Sri Lanka. “These future engineers are an important stakeholder group in Sri Lanka’s construction industry, and it is our responsibility as the foremost cement manufacturer of the country to create opportunities, reward, and recognise high-potential talent to establish and nurture an innovation culture in Sri Lanka. We are excited to continue our long-standing partnership with the IESL and are thrilled with this year’s promising results.”

“We congratulate the winning team on their exceptional performance, and are thrilled with the level of invention and new thinking displayed by the teams during the ISEE-IESL Concrete Challenge 2018,” said Prof. Niranjanie Ratnayake, President of the IESL.

“We partner with INSEE Cement to facilitate this competition each year, encouraged by the company’s unrelenting efforts to elevate the benchmark of Sri Lanka’s construction industry,” said Prof. Anura Nanayakkara, who headed the judging panel for the competition. “We look forward to continuing this partnership to inculcate innovative mindsets among the next generation of engineers in Sri Lanka.”

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/asia-pacific-rim/18122018/winners-of-insee-iesl-concrete-challenge-announced/