Executives and representatives of Emerson Philippines together with the faculty members and students of the Technological Institute of the Philippines, the top winner of the competition.
Championing the ingenuity and passion of young Filipinos in the field of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), Emerson recently staged and announced the winners of the first-ever Emerson Innovation Challenge in the Philippines.
Reinforcing Emerson's worldwide initiative of inspiring and empowering the next generation of professionals specializing in STEM, the Emerson Innovation Challenge is designed to be socially relevant and puts to the test young mind in addressing today's most complex and pressing community issues.
Students from different colleges and universities across Metro Manila were tasked to create Internet of Things (IoT) applications that creatively address daily problems, such as a traffic light control system that adapts to vehicle volumes and road conditions, and a home monitoring and care embedded system that enables home owners watch their pets remotely.
“The Internet of Things is the wave of the future discussed everywhere – this vision of everyday objects having network connectivity has long been happening, at rates faster and more wide-ranging than what the world has expected,” said Ed Boone, president of Emerson Asia-Pacific and general manager of Emerson Philippines: “The Emerson Innovation Challenge 2018 empowers young Filipino innovators as catalysts to further drive social progress through innovation.”
Held at the Henry Sy Sr. Innovation Center at the Miriam College in Quezon City, the final round of the competition gathered the top ten schools, including Adamson University, Asia Pacific College, Bulacan State University, De La Salle University, FEU Institute of Technology, Mapua University, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Technological Institute of the Philippines, Technological University of the Philippines, and the University of the Philippines.
Ultimately, the Technological Institute of the Philippines emerged as the top winner of the competition, bagging the first-place trophy and cash prize of PhP 70,000. The University of the Philippines - Diliman landed on the second spot, taking home PhP 30,000.
Both entries from the two institutions aimed at solving health-related problems. TIP’s winning entry, Project Amihan, focused on air quality monitoring and conditioning, and proposed an IoT-powered air filtration system. Their innovation was founded on the study by the World Health Organization, which shows that air pollution has been one of the main causes of health concerns in the Philippines. On the other hand, UPD’s entry, Sudsidy, proposed an incentivized handwashing IoT system that grants redeemable BEEP card points for commuters who use the system.
“This challenge is the latest in a series of Emerson’s award-winning STEM initiatives in the Philippines designed to support the development of our young talent,” Boone said: “These efforts include an ongoing scholarship program, technical instrumentation trainings, research project collaborations, faculty immersion programs, and partnerships with key academic institutions, special interest groups and government units – all to inspire young students to enter science, technology, engineering, and math-related fields.”
"Next year, I certainly want to beef the program up again. I think that we got some excitement in there now. Maybe we can increase the prize money or do other things along that line. These programs are fun for us. They are designed to be fun, but at the same time worthwhile. We get these kids to make them think of how they can make the world a better place. At Emerson, that is what we are all about. Our mission is to leave the world in better shape than we are in today. We want to make the kids think that way," Boone added.