Global Student Challenge returns for 2021

The Global Student Challenge opens for 2021 on 1 December 2020. Run by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) since 2014, the annual competition challenges students in the built environment to run a virtual construction company.

2021 sees the seventh year of the competition, and the challenge is seeking teams made up of full-time students studying a degree in the built environment. After six weeks of competition, the leaders are given the opportunity to compete in finals that attract talent from around the world. Previous winners have included Glasgow Caledonian University, George Brown College and Universitas Indonesia. 

The competition utilises MERIT, an online game which simulates the management of a construction company. The winning team will receive £2,000 in prize money at the 2021 Members’ Forum in Sydney (dependent on COVID-19 travel restrictions). 

The competition opens for entries on 1 December 2020 before closing on 14 April 2021. Teams will then be able to access game software, followed by six rounds of competition taking place over as many weeks. Finalists will be announced on 25 May 2021, with the finals set to be held in June 2021.