At this year’s Conference the IRE will host a best paper competition for young people in the refractory industry. This is a great opportunity to showcase yourself and your work to major refractory companies within Europe and beyond.

The topic scope is broad and can be anything refractory related.

1. Stage 1 – Papers will be initially submitted to the IRE secretary.
2. Stage 2 – A vetting panel, made up of IRE Council Members will re-view all papers submitted. Three papers will then be selected to be presented and judged on the conference day.
3. Stage 3 – 18th November 2026 Quays Hotel Sheffield Shortlisted presenters will give a 10 minute presentation to Conference attendees followed by a further five minutes of questions from the judging panel.
4. Stage 4 – Judges will decide a winner!

Submit the following to secretary@ireng.org:

• Name
• Occupation (working/student)
• Role at work/ Course studying
• Institute (Place of study/work)
• Reference contact (Manager/Professor etc)
• Presentation Title
• Presentation Synopsis
• Bio (Tell us about yourself)

Prizes

• Winner £250
• Runners up £150
• Plus free 2027 IRE Membership

Please submit your entry before 30/09/2026. Presentation date is 18/11/2026.

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