Student teams from Adamson University, Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), and Asia Pacific College (APC) were recently proclaimed winners of the second Emerson Innovation Challenge.
Held at the Henry Sy Sr. Innovation Center in Miriam College on Wednesday, November 20, the event attracted students from colleges and universities across Metro Manila who built applications embodying the competition’s “Digital Transformation” theme.
“I’d like to congratulate the participating schools and students for proving that scientific research, and in that case inquisitiveness, perseverance, and motivation, can lead to positive changes in the world,” said Romina Saking, vice president and general manager of Emerson Systems and Solutions Manila, during the opening of the event.
“It’s really heartening that in the face of the challenges posed by our contemporary world, with threats to our environment and our political and societal structures, we can be assured that the future is bright.”
Grand prize winner Adamson University’s invention was Project ISDA, which stands for IoT System for Dissolve Oxygen Monitoring and Analytics. It is a “decision-support” tool for fish pond farmers to prevent mass fish kills. The device’s sensor nodes are anchored in strategic places inside each fish pond, and these send temperature and dissolve oxygen data to a base station that monitors the water quality.
Other projects that caught Emerson’s eye were first runner-up Project Haya by PUP students and second runner-up Lawin by the APC team. Project Haya is a search-and-rescue app created to save fishermen’s lives, while Lawin is a public security app that can quickly send criminal activity reports to the relevant law enforcement agencies.
“For all of you guys who know the reality of our educational system, we are not as privileged as our first-world counterparts. So we as Filipinos need to work together to push innovation to the next level for nation-building,” stated Jo-A Lozano, business leader of Emerson Automation Solutions.
“Aside from this being a contest, my dear students, please remember that collaboration is also a big part of how we build the Philippines as a nation. Use our resources available to you guys to continue to innovate. Don’t stop here,” he added.
Emerson awarded its grand winner, first runner-up, and second runner-up with P100,000, P50,000, and P25,000, respectively.
The Emerson Innovation Challenge is a local initiative inspired by Emerson’s advocacy to inspire and empower the next generation of professionals specializing in STEM fields. The challenge spanned five months, wherein the participating schools built their prototypes with the aid of in-school coaches, Emerson mentors, and the Emerson STEM Camp.
