INSEE-IESL challenge boosts engineering skills of university students

INSEE Cement partnered with Sri Lanka’s premier Engineering professional body, the Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka (IESL) to launch the INSEE-IESL Concrete Challenge 2017.

The competition powered by INSEE Cement for the fourth consecutive year, will see final year Civil Engineering students of Moratuwa, Peradeniya, Ruhuna, Jaffna, South Eastern Universities and the Open University battle head on, creating innovative concrete mix designs. Three five-member teams from each university will be chosen by internal competitions conducted by the IESL Chapters, and will be eligible to participate in the final competition, according to an INSEE media release.

INSEE Cement is behind Sri Lanka’s leading retail cement products, INSEE Sanstha and INSEE Mahaweli Marine, producing a much higher strength compared to any other cement available in the local market. The cement type that will be used for this year’s competition will be INSEE Extra, a fly ash blended cement that improves the durability and workability of concrete, leading to a significant cost and carbon emission reduction in large-scale constructions. The competition will last for a total of three months, with the grand finale on October 12. The winners will be announced at the Techno Sri Lanka 2017 exhibition in Colombo.

Commercial Director at INSEE Cement Janaka Weerakoon said, “Not only are we looking at imparting knowledge through this competition, we are also encouraging the future generation to invest in specialised areas in the construction industry such as concrete mix design, and collaborate with us as we challenge convention through research and innovation. We are delighted to partner with IESL in this endeavour, to promote internationally regulated standards and practices through this competition.”

IESL, the apex body for professional engineers in Sri Lanka, will ensure independent reviews and result assessments of the teams throughout the competition. " Jayavilal Meegoda, President of the IESL, said that "competitions such as the INSEE-IESL Concrete Challenge encourage Sri Lankan engineering undergraduates to focus on research and innovation, an imperative requirement for the evolution of engineering in the country”.

The winning team will visit the INSEE Cement Headquarters in Thailand and the INSEE Cement plant in Saraburi, the largest cement manufacturing facility in the world, on a 3-nights educational visit to the country.