The 15th Steel Challenge of the World Steel Association was held online on April 12. That was to comply with social distancing guidelines for the coronavirus around the world, the association said. About 1,200 participants from 27 countries and regions attended the competition, which is held annually.

This year was the third time that engineers from HBIS have won the championship. The highly skilled participants, such as Shi, will promote the high-quality development of the steel industry, HBIS said.

After winning the challenge, Shi got a great relief, saying he didn't fail to live up to what he learned in college and the practical experience he accumulated after graduation. He graduated in 2015 in metallurgical engineering from the School of Metallurgy at Northeastern University.

After graduation, he was offered a job by HBIS, one of the country's major steel producers. His main duty was to develop a new steel grade.

"It's called bake-hardened steel — a kind of new generation of automotive steel, which demands high accuracy and material quality during production," he said.

After several months of research and practice at the factory, he finally made the new steel and helped his employer provide 600 metric tons of the product to a major carmaker.

"The competition was a bit like my studies back in college and the work after graduation. You must be devoted to it and make efforts to achieve the goal. Then you will not let yourself down," he said.