College students are being tapped to present proposals that will have a measurable and positive environmental impact. The selected environmental project proposals will be progressed to the development of the actual prototype, using an open source device. ASI General Manager Jefferson Plaza believes that there is an innovators in the best of us, and would like to channel this drive to finding solutions that will help build a better environment.
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ASI Technovation Challenge is open to college undergraduate students from the same school representing the colleges of computer science, computer engineering and information technology. Participants may opt to join individually or as a team of five members, and must submit the necessary forms to qualify. The challenge comes with a huge reward for the winning team the presents the best proposal and creates a viable prototype. The grand prize winner will win for themselves and their school, a total of P100,000 cash and I.T. products. Four consolation prizes for the runners up – P25,000 for each team.
ASI Technovation Challenge will also give out Special Prizes like the “People’s Choice” Award and the “Most Liked” Award – an online vote for the best prototype at Facebook.
Advance Solutions Inc. (ASI), one of the country’s leading ICT solutions provider, presented the final eight teams that will compete for the right to be called true innovators in this year’s ASI Technovation Challenge: Green I.T.; officially endorsed by the Commission on Higher Education.
The final eight teams that passed through the first level of eliminations are– Team Cyber Arceri and Team The BBN Project from De La Salle University; Team ICS Eastwood Icons from Informatics; Team Red from San Beda College Mendiola; Team A.R.C. from University of Perpetual Help System Dalta and Team SMSDR from the University of Perpetual Help System Dalta; Team Royal and Team Zed from the University of Sto. Tomas. They came in full force during the presentation of their certificates wearing their school or team colors to signify their unity.
The eight-team finalists were selected from numerous entries by a distinguished panel of judges from media, I.T. professionals, COMDDAP and Advance Solutions Inc. representatives. Their proposals were acknowledged to have passed strict criteria that included environmental impact, viability, creativity and originality and team dynamics. Some are ingeniously simple, but got a lot of attention from the judges. Their proposals range from providing energy conservation devices, water conservation and waste management devices that will now be put to the test, as each team is slated to build their own prototypes.
All eight-team finalists are expected to bring to fruition their concepts by creating their prototype. These prototypes will be presented at the COMDDAP Expo at the World Trade Center starting November 16 to 18, where it will be judge to determine the winning concept and final prototype.
The winning team will carry the distinction of being the first “technovators” and will take home a grand prize of P100,000 cash and I.T. products. The first set of runners-up, composed of four teams, will each win P25,000 cash and I.T. products, while the second set of runners-up, composed of three teams, will each win P15,000 worth of I.T. products.
Present during the announcement of the eight-team finalists were the president and executive director of COMDDAP, Mr. Juan Chua and Ms. Gina Dimayuga respectively, who were supportive of the program and were equally impressed with the turn out. From Advance Solutions Inc. were Mr. Jefferson Plaza, general manager, Ms. Rowena Sanchez, vice president for Business Development and Ms. Katrina Castellano, Business Development Specialist.
Mr. Jefferson Plaza, general manager of ASI shared, “We want to train our youth today to be progressive thinkers. As one of my late college mentor Mr. Brendan Yu would tell us in class, “Never accept the given as given but rather challenge the given!” It would be nice for us to change the outlook of our youth and prepare them not to view technology as how the world’s I.T. magnate would like them to envision it. We want them to step up and dictate that this is how technology should look like, and this is how it should be used!”
The event was held at Fish and Co. where they serve one of the best meal that I've tasted.
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
