Overview
AVEVA is proud to announce the winners of the 2025/26 Global Academic Competition, recognizing the next generation of innovators shaping the future of process engineering with AI, process simulation, and cloud-based data tools.
From January 5 to February 25, 2026, students from around the world put theory into practice by building AI-enabled process models and demonstrating a smooth, modern digital twin of an industrial process. Using cloud-based data and visualization in CONNECT, participants identified key process variables, trained and benchmarked AI models (in Python or a platform of their choice), and then integrated those models into AVEVA™ Process Simulation to test and validate performance against real-world operating scenarios.
Today, we’re proud to celebrate the teams whose work stood out for technical rigor, creativity, and real-world applicability. Congratulations to the 2025/26 competition winners!
In the sections below, you’ll hear from them personally and their journey through these projects!
North America Winners
First Place – Lucas Sanches / Joshua Long
“We were thrilled to participate in this competition throughout the semester. Our team had the opportunity to compete in last year’s academic competition where we familiarized ourselves with Aveva Process Simulation's user interface. This year featured a new twist with data from Aveva Connect being utilized to train a machine learning model to combine first principles in chemical engineering with process trends. We also had the chance to build dashboards that could be used in an operational and business setting. The competition itself paralleled many of the experiences we have had during internships and was a fun challenge to tackle. Aveva’s extensive training materials and documentation made utilizing Connect and the new functionality in APS very easy. Overall, it was a phenomenal opportunity, and we are grateful to be a part of it.”
Runner-up – Eder Oscar Valencia / Angel Gabriel Medrano
“Participating in the AVEVA Academic Competition 2026 was a very exciting experience for us. It allowed us to develop and refine our abilities in data science and process engineering by building a hybrid Digital Twin for the cumene-alkylation process. By applying process simulation with Artificial Neural Networks. Furthermore, collaborating by using digital workflows, and agile project management. We are honored by this recognition and eager to continue applying these Industry 4.0 technologies solving real process engineering challenges
Europe Winners
First Place – Laura Stops, Philipp Schwab, Valeria Sidarava
“Participating in the AVEVA 2026 Academic Challenge was a truly engaging and fun experience for the three of us. It was a great opportunity to broaden our horizons and work on a project that combines process simulation with data-driven approaches. One of the highlights was getting to try out different machine learning methods, learn more about them, and explore how we could integrate them into AVEVA’s simulation environment. This made the challenge especially interesting for us.
The competition was definitely challenging, but in a very positive way. We spent a lot of time developing, testing, and refining our ideas, and it was incredibly rewarding to see everything come together in the end.
We were all highly motivated from start to finish and really got into the project. Working closely as a team, exchanging ideas, and learning from one another were a big part of this experience. Overall, it was a great opportunity to learn new things, push ourselves, and have a lot of fun along the way.”
Runner-up – Michalina Miller
“AVEVA Process Simulation competition was a great experience for me. It allowed me to implement the knowledge I gained during my studies to solve a practical problem and it showed me the real importance of critical thinking as well as the ability to learn and develop solutions to new problems I have not encountered before.
During the competition, I learned a lot about machine learning, both in theory and in practice. Before the competition, I didn’t have much experience with Python or ML, so it was definitely a challenge at first. However, I really enjoyed going through the whole process, from choosing the right parameters, to training the model, and finally integrating it into my own process simulation.
What I also found great is how open-ended the competition was. There wasn’t just one correct way to approach the problem, which meant we had to think things through on our own and justify our decisions. That made the whole experience feel more realistic and made me feel like I was working on a real engineering problem. I also liked the option to submit the report in a video format. It made it easier to explain the ideas step by step and present the results in a clearer and more engaging way.
Overall, I’m really glad I took part in this competition, it was challenging but also very rewarding, and I feel like it pushed me to learn a lot in a relatively short time.”
LATAM Winners
First Place – Felipe Bundt , João Pedro Beck
“Being part of the AVEVA Academic Competition 2026 was an incredibly rewarding experience that pushed me beyond the boundaries of traditional classroom learning. Together with my team, we developed a solution that combined first-principles modeling in AVEVA Process Simulation with machine learning tools, aiming to better represent complex process behavior and improve prediction accuracy. Throughout the project, we faced challenges that required us to learn new tools, question our assumptions, and continuously refine our approach.
The journey was defined by collaboration, persistence, and a strong commitment to understanding the process in depth. We spent countless hours aligning simulation results with data-driven models, testing different strategies, and improving the integration between engineering fundamentals and modern computational techniques. This experience strengthened not only my technical skills but also my ability to work in a team, communicate ideas clearly, and approach problems with a critical and structured mindset.
More than the final result, this competition had a lasting impact on our development as a future chemical engineer. It reinforced the importance of combining theory with practical application and showed me the value of innovation in solving real industrial problems. We are truly proud to have been part of this journey and grateful for the opportunity to learn, grow, and contribute.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to AVEVA for making it possible to take part in such a challenging and enriching academic competition. This experience was essential in broadening my perspective and allowing me to apply important engineering knowledge in practice. I am especially thankful to my colleague João Beck for the partnership we built over these months, marked by strong collaboration, constant exchange of ideas, and dedication at every stage of the project. Teamwork was key to achieving this outcome. My appreciation also goes to the professors who played an important role in my development, sharing their knowledge, guidance, and continuously encouraging critical thinking throughout my academic journey.” - Felipe Bundt
"Having participated in the 2026 Academic Competition organized by AVEVA Process Simulation alongside my colleague Felipe was an incredibly rewarding and fulfilling experience. Our exposure to real-world situations faced by a computational chemical engineer, in a practical and direct way, drove us to fully dedicate ourselves to the execution and completion of this major project. And the victory we achieved brought a success that went far beyond the award itself: we gained substantial practical and applied knowledge, improved communication skills, the ability to solve problems quickly, and the development of a strong partnership. There were countless weeks of work (during our academic break), divided into daily sessions in which we met for hours to develop and troubleshoot issues in Machine Learning algorithms and, most importantly, their integration into the simulation environment provided by the company. I emphasize that this entire process—gradual, attentive, and focused—was extremely rewarding, and today we are reaping the benefits of this high-level experience in knowledge and professional growth. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to AVEVA, a global leader in industrial information technology, for the opportunity to take part in this high-level academic competition; to my colleague Felipe Bundt, for all the support, communication, persistence, and partnership developed over these months; to the Computer-Aided Process Engineering Laboratory of the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Federal University of Santa Maria (LEPAC-DEQ-UFSM), and its professors, for all the knowledge and structure provided throughout our undergraduate studies; to my parents for all the care and guidance invested in me; and to God for allowing me to live this experience.” – João Pedro Beck
Runner-up: Catherine Segura Celis, Juan Diego Betancur Ruiz , Santiago Garcia Bayona, Sofía Pitty Parra
“This competition was a masterclass in resourcefulness that truly sharpened our engineering intuition. With AVEVA as a catalyst for our process, we learned how to bridge individual strengths to transform moments of uncertainty into a streamlined success.”
