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The Global Educator & Trainer Challenge 2024 has once again showcased the power of collaboration, competition, and innovation in supply chain education. This year, over 130 participants from across the globe, organized into more than 30 teams, competed in The Fresh Connection’s Market Expansion Learning Solution. From November 12th to November 26th, global educators and trainers battled for the prestigious title of World Champion!

The curtains have closed on the highly anticipated Global PRO Final (GPF) 2024, marking another landmark event in supply chain excellence. Known as the “Olympics of Supply Chain Management,” this year’s competition showcased top industry talent from across the globe, merging competition, innovation, and in-depth learning.

We are excited to announce our new partnership with Ecochain, through which we are offering a comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) learning solution tailored for higher education institutions and companies.

This innovative learning solution provides a practical, real-world experience in conducting an LCA for a chocolate milk bottle using the Ecochain Mobius software.

We’re excited to announce the launch of our newest learning solution: Product-as-a-Service (PaaS).

This learning solution provides an innovative and hands-on experience of the PaaS circular business model specifically designed for higher education institutions and companies.

Inchainge, a leader in experiential learning, has partnered with the Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM) to revolutionize the way APICS-certified professionals earn certification maintenance points. Starting in 2024, participants can earn points through Inchainge’s innovative business simulation games.

The Global Student Challenge 2024 has come to an end, and what a ride it’s been! With 50 teams consisting of 211 students from 43 universities from all over the world battling for the champion title and cash prizes. These brilliant minds came together to take on the world’s leading supply chain business game, The Fresh Connection.

The second Global Qualification Round of Global Student Challenge 2024 was held from March 11th – March 31st. During this online event teams from universities from across the globe competed against each other by playing three rounds of The Fresh Connection. Only the top 30% of teams with the best-weighted score got the opportunity to continue to the Online Global Final which is taking place from May 6th – May 10th, 2024.

So, who are the teams to qualify for the Global Final of Global Student Challenge 2024?

The first Global Qualification Round of Global Student Challenge 2024 was held from January 15th – February 4th 2024. During this online event teams from universities from across the globe competed against each other by playing three rounds of The Fresh Connection. Only the top 30% of teams with the best-weighted score got the opportunity to continue to the Online Global Final which is taking place from May 6th – May 10th, 2024.

So, who are the first teams to qualify for the Global Final of Global Student Challenge 2024?

The curtains have finally closed on the much-anticipated Global PRO Final (GPF) 2023, marking another successful year for Inchainge’s flagship event. Dubbed as the “Olympics of Supply Chain Management,” this year’s competition not only showcased the brightest minds in the industry but also brought forth a fusion of competition, innovation, and learning.

Today marks a significant milestone! We’re thrilled to announce that renowned lecturers and authors, Dr. Ed Weenk EngD and Rozanne Henzen, have broadened the audience of their book, “Mastering the Circular Economy. Previously available in English and Spanish, it is now accessible in Chinese under the title 韧性商业模式.

India is taking Supply Chain Management to the next level!

At the Advaita’23 event, 64 sharp minds divided into teams from 16 different top Management Schools in India kicked off The Fresh Connection business simulation game Challenge at the Indian School of Business (ISB).

The Global Student Challenge 2023 has come to a close, and what a ride it’s been! With 199 students from 47 teams, and 18 countries hailing from all corners of the world battling for the champion title and cash prizes worth a total of €10,000. These brilliant minds came together to take on the world’s leading supply chain business game, The Fresh Connection.

The third Global Qualification Round (GQR 3) of the Global Student Challenge took place from March 6th to April 2nd, 2023, bringing together teams from universities worldwide to compete in 3 rounds of The Fresh Connection. Only the top 30 % of teams with the highest scores have advanced to the Global Final to compete with the top teams worldwide.

Inchainge is delighted to announce the success of its latest Supply Chain Sustainability Masterclass in conjunction with Cranfield School of Management. The event, which took place at Cranfield School of Management in Wharley End provided a dynamic learning experience filled with valuable insights and sustainable takeaways.

The second Global Qualification Round (GQR 2) of the Global Student Challenge took place from January 16th to February 5th, 2023, bringing together teams from universities worldwide to compete in 3 rounds of The Fresh Connection. Only the top 30 % of teams with the highest scores have advanced to the Global Final to compete with the top teams worldwide.

After the two successful previous editions of the Global Educator Challenge, which gave professors across the planet an opportunity to compete against each other in teams of 4 or 5 by playing the supply chain business game, The Fresh Connection, the event was renewed for winter 2022. In the period from November 7th until December 16th, educators from 32 institutions in higher education from 12 countries have competed for the title of Global Educator Challenge World Champion!

The Global PRO Challenge and its Final have been around for 12 years. However, this year was more than just an exciting experience for participants. We opened our doors to the world and live-streamed the Global PRO Final.

Since its creation in 2011, the Global PRO Challenge and its Final have witnessed astonishing displays of supply chain strategies from the best of the best SCM professionals around the world. In the past years, at Inchainge, we have witnessed constant surprises, with champions coming from around the world: from Pakistan to Canada, from motivated individuals to global corporations.

“How do you bring sustainable strategy into action?” That is a question that most businesses ask themselves when they are making the transition to a sustainable model. But what if there was a way to find out? What if businesses had the opportunity to undergo a trial-and-error scenario before they could apply their strategies in a real-life company?

It is an exciting day for us! We have struck two milestones. Firstly, we are elated to announce that Prof. Ed Weenk’s book, co-authored by Rozanne Henzen, on ‘Mastering the Circular Economy’, is now available in Spanish. Titled ‘Economía circular: Un enfoque práctico para transformar los modelos empresariales’, the book introduces us to the concept of circular economy and its exciting evolution as a business model. The Spanish counterpart is published by Marge Books and edited by David Soler Garcia.

A resilient value chain is not only in demand but it has become a necessity in the post-COVID world. During his interview with Inchainge, Principal Consultant of Involvation Jeroen Scheepers mentioned that it is important for companies to be flexible and resilient by nature. He puts emphasis on various aspects such as design, collaboration, behaviour, and agility which constitute the resilient supply chain.  

Participants from across the globe came together to battle for the championship title at this year’s Global Student Challenge Finals between April 30-May 6. We were elated to witness the enthusiasm and the passion with which the participants from over 17 countries, 38 teams, and 164 students, competed in every round throughout the week for the Championship title and cash prizes worth a total of €10,000.

Developing a circular strategy means that a business model has to be a combination of certain patterns, business logic, and 90% of business innovation. In this podcast, Richard Stechow (Managing Innovation Consultant & Circular Economy Lead, BMI Lab) about what necessary steps is required for a business to embrace a circular model.

The mini-conference on ‘The quest towards Sustainable Value Chains’, held on April 20, at 15:00 pm was both inspiring and informative. The conference was held online and educators and professionals from across the globe joined us.

We were delighted to have with us our co-founder, Hans Kremer, along with keynote speakers Prof. Ed Weenk (MSc, PDEng) and Peter van Grinsven. Throughout the conference, they discussed how companies can make ambitious targets that have a constructive impact on the 3ps of sustainability: People, Planet, and Prosperity. The keynote speakers also addressed some poignant questions about how companies can respond to their growing expectations in becoming more sustainable.

We are excited to announce that the Japanese version of Prof. Ed Weenk’s book ‘Mastering the Supply Chain: Principles, Practice, and Real-life applications’ has been officially published and placed in major book stores in Japan. The book, published by Doyukan on April 13, 2022, was translated to Japanese by Ayako Kawai, Takamichi Hosoda, AkikiroNakatsuka, Tomoyuki Kobayashi, Keiichi Yamamoto, and others.

The results of Global Qualification Round 3 (GQR 3) of The Global Student Challenge are in!

The third and last Global Qualification Round of the Global Student Challenge was held from March 7th until April 4th, 2022. During this online event teams from universities from across the globe competed against each other by playing three rounds of The Fresh Connection.

Sustainability has a new connection! Our newest business simulation game, The Triple Connection, is finally out. This is a huge milestone for us and we aim to make it also a milestone in the transition towards more sustainable business practices. During the Inchainge Connect Educator Conference 2022, our co-founder Egge Haak revealed the Triple Connection for the first time ever – and we are proud to say that it is ALL ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY!

Inchainge Connect Educator Conference 2022 took place on the 30th of March as an exclusive Global Event. The theme was ‘The EdTech Revolution in Higher Education – Accelerating Value Chain Excellence & a Sustainable Future with game-based learning’. We had the pleasure to welcome 300+ participants from all around the world to our extended 16-hour program!

Revolutions spark from the need for an end and the beginning of something new. Breaking out of a prior delusion that technology will never impact education, today – thanks to the advancement in game-based learning – digital education is a worldwide phenomenon. Inchainge has been an integral part of this phenomenon and as we continue to welcome educators, topic experts, and thought leaders we are all set to kick off Inchainge Connect 2022.

The second Global Qualification Round of the Global Student Challenge was held from January 17^th until February 13^th, 2022. During this online event teams from universities from across the globe competed against each other by playing three rounds of The Fresh Connection. Only the top 30% of teams with the best-weighted score got the opportunity to continue to the Online Global Final which is taking place from April 30^th until May 6^th, 2022. So, who are the first teams to qualify for the Global Final of the Global Student Challenge 2022?

The Global Professional Challenge 2021 was a great success!

All in all, more than 500 teams registered for the training workshops of this eleventh edition of The Fresh Connection Global PRO Challenge. Only 29 teams from all over the world qualified for the Global Final which took place in November 2021.

Curious to know who the winner is of this year’s edition?

In September, PPA Business school organized a special week around circular economy and cordially invited us to give a presentation about our circular business game, The Blue Connection. Of course, we accepted without hesitation! Our Global Director Education, Corine van der Sloot, and Education Advisor for French-speaking areas, Nina Bliah-Gil embarked on the Thalys from Amsterdam and traveled to Paris.  Read all about our collaboration with PPA and our participation in the circular economy week!

The results of Global Qualification Round 1 (GQR 1) of The Global Student Challenge are in! The first Global Qualification Round of the Global Student Challenge was held from November 8 to December 5, 2021. During this online event, 24 teams from 20 different universities from around the globe, competed against each other by playing three rounds of The Fresh Connection. Only the top 30% of teams with the best-weighted score got the opportunity to continue to the Online Global Final which is taking place in May 2022. So, who are the first teams to qualify for the Global Final of the Global Student Challenge 2022?

The Global Educator Challenge is a competition where participants compete against each other for the champion title. Held at the same time as the Global Pro Challenge, the Global Educator Challenge started on Monday, September 13^th, and officially ended on October 22^nd.  Every two weeks, a new round of the business game was played, which made a total of 3 rounds of game-play. After each round, a leaderboard session took place to announce the scores. Last week, the last round was played, meaning we can officially announce the winners of this edition!

While many students are returning to campuses and will resume traveling for their international exchanges this academic year, the Virtual Exchange Program remains an attractive and relevant learning experience. It promotes inclusiveness and decreases the barriers for students to strengthen their intercultural skills and grow their international network. Continue reading this article to learn more about the added value of this program, the third edition, how to join, and more.

How great is it when universities award educators for their outstanding achievements? The University of Vienna gives out awards every year to honor innovative and outstanding courses. This year the award went to one of Biljana Roljic’s courses called “Business Games for Production Management” which incorporated gamification with supply chain business game, The Fresh Connection! In this article, you can read more about the UNIVIE Teaching award, Biljana’s course design, and the advantages of experiential learning and an integrated learning approach.

For the first time after five years, Inchainge organized the Global Educator Challenge 2021 for certified teachers of The Fresh connection from all around the globe. In teams of four, participants had the chance to compete against each other for the champion title. Held at the same time as the  Global Pro Challenge, the Global Educator Challenge started on Monday, April 19^th and lasted 6 weeks. Every 2 weeks a new round of the business game was played, which made a total of 3 rounds game-play. Last week, the last round was played, meaning we can finally announce the winners!

The Global Final of the Global Student Challenge took place fully online for the first time ever on May 2^nd till May 8^th, 2021. This was the biggest Global Final ever with 48 participating teams from 33 different universities and 17 countries battling against each other for the Champion title and EUR 10,000 in cash prizes! And the winners are…

The Inchainge Connect Educator Conference took place for the first time as an exclusive global event on April 14^th. The theme was ‘The Evolution of Integrated Learning – Reshaping Value Chain Education’. It was such a great experience! We welcomed a total of 300+ participants and speakers in our online platform, Scoocs. It’s an online events platform where you can easily create and manage engaging and immersive online event experiences.

The Global Final is taking place on our online event platform, Scoocs, on May 2^nd till May 8^th, 2021. It’s a week where all qualified teams battle against each other for the Champion title and EUR 10,000 in cash prizes! This will be an intense competition among the top value chain students around the world!

The results of Global Qualification Round 3 (GQR 3) of The Global Student Challenge are in!

The third and last Global Qualification Round of the Global Student Challenge was held from March15 until April 12, 2021. During this online event teams from universities from across the globe competed against each other by playing three rounds of The Fresh Connection.

The second out of three Global Qualification Rounds of The Global Student Challenge has come to an end.

The top 30% of the teams have qualified for the Global Final 2021. The Global Qualification Round 3 will kick off in March 2021.

Read the full update for a list of the top finalists!

VILAS – the only Vietnam partner of Inchainge to organize the National Championship of the “Global Student Challenge”. With over 200 students and 30 teams, VSCC 2021 is a great playground for finding the next generation of supply chain management. In addition, VSCC gives students a practical experience of the Supply Chain in business compared to the academic world at universities.

Experience now The Cool Connection focused on Working Capital Management. Bridge the Physical and Financial Value Chain by immersing yourself in our new and improved user interface. Or take it to the next level with the Integrated Business Planning (IBP) variant by implementing a powerful planning process”.

The first out of three Global Qualification Rounds of The Global Student Challenge has come to an end. The top 10 teams have qualified for the Global Final 2021. The Global Qualification Round 2 will kick off between January 25 to February 12. Read the full update for a list of the top finalists!

Windesheim University of applied sciences teamed up with six European universities to host a Virtual Exchange Program in a 3D environment. This 7-week program was centered around the world’s first circular business simulation game, The Blue Connection. Read all about this international Virtual Exchange experience.

This spring the new book MASTERING THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY – A Practical Approach to the Circular Business Model Transformation will be published. In this book, Rozanne Henzen and Ed Weenk bring the integrated learning experience of playing The Blue Connection and the theory on Circular Economy to a higher level.

The New Release of The Blue Connection is here! It consists of new features like Return on Material KPI, Vendor Lease Loan option, and more. With the re-designed interface, you can immerse yourself in facing the challenges and opportunities of going circular. You can read all about what’s new in The Blue Connection in this article.