PHL Set to Compete in the World’s Toughest Math Contest

Wazzup Pilipinas!

After going through a series of competitions and intensive training, six high school students were chosen to represent the country in the 60th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) from July 11-22, 2019 in Bath, United Kingdom.

1. Immanuel Josiah A. Balete (St. Stephen’s High School)

2. Vincent U. Dela Cruz (Valenzuela City School of Mathematics and Science)

3. Andres Rico M. Gonzales III (De La Salle University Integrated School)

4. Dion Stephan J. Ong (Ateneo de Manila Senior High School)

5. Bryce Ainsley A. Sanchez (Grace Christian College)

6. Sean Anderson L. Ty (Zamboanga Chong Hua High School)


Team Leader Dr. Richard B. Eden and Deputy Leader Dr. Christian Paul O. Chan Shio, both of Ateneo de Manila University, and Observer Mr. Russelle H. Guadalupe of the University of the Philippines – Diliman will guide the students in the competition.

The IMO, held annually in a different country, is dubbed as the most prestigious and most difficult high school mathematics competition in the world. This year, it will see 636 students from 113 countries.

The national team was selected at the end ofthe Mathematical Olympiad Summer Camp (MOSC), a rigorous training program led by the Mathematical Society of the Philippines (MSP) from February to May 2019. Invited to the program were the National Finalists of the 21st Philippine Mathematical Olympiad (PMO).

Sanchez, Ty, and Dela Cruz placed first, second, and third respectively in the National Stage of the 21st PMO held last January 2019, while Gonzales and Ty each won an Honorable Mention Award in the 59th IMO.

Last year, the Philippines won a gold medal, a silver medal, two bronze medals, and two honorable mentions, and ranked 38th in the Competition participated by 107 countries.

In a message at the team’s send-off program last June 29, 2019, Department of Science and Technology - Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) Director Josette Biyo thanked the team and everyone else who has been instrumental in their training and participation.

“We wish you all the best in the upcoming weeks. Already, you are winners in the eyes of our people,” Dr. Biyo said.

While the prospect of winning gold for the country is the team’s ultimate goal in joining the IMO, “being part of the 2019 IMO team is already its own reward,” said Dion Stephan Ong.

“The IMO has been my source of fun and leisure throughout my high school life. While I may have been different from my peers in school, the IMO has taught me lessons that I would not have learned elsewhere, and I do not regret spending four years of my high school life preparing for it,” Sean Anderson Ty said.

The country's participation in the IMO is a project of MSP and DOST-SEI, with support from major sponsors Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. (HARI) Foundation and Manulife Business Processing Services. (30)

Photo captions

1. PADAYON, PHILIPPINE IMO TEAM! (L-R) Immanuel Josiah A. Balete (St. Stephen’s High School), Bryce Ainsley A. Sanchez (Grace Christian College), Andres Rico M. Gonzales III (De La Salle University Integrated School), Dion Stephan J. Ong (Ateneo de Manila Senior High School), Vincent U. Dela Cruz (Valenzuela City School of Mathematics and Science), and Sean Anderson L. Ty (Zamboanga Chong Hua High School) will represent the country in the prestigious International Mathematical Olympiad from July 11-22, 2019 in Bath, United Kingdom.

2. The IMO Philippine Team is bent on showcasing the best of Filipino mathematical abilities

in what is regarded as the grandest stage in mathematics. Photo courtesy of the Mathematical Society of the Philippines (MSP) / Go for Gold: Philippine IMO Team Facebook page.

5 Predictions for Artificial Intelligence in 2020

Wazzup Pilipinas!

AI has been here for a while and the potential of technology has made it achieve a great spot in terms of “Technology of Future”. As scientists and engineers work relentlessly to shape the technology in its best form and resultantly we now have for our products like self-driving cars, Nest, and many more. 

An unmistakable case of this is the Artificial Intelligence upgraded silicon chip which can be embedded into any compact gadget. In this manner, organizations and associations are putting significantly in Artificial Intelligence to quicken the up and coming age of uses. To gain expertise and certification in this AI tool, you can join Intellipaat's Artificial Intelligence course.


Let’s change the frame of reference and dig deeper to find out significant development that the AI realm is definitely going to see in the year 2020.

#1. AI Assistant will Grip Closely with the Enterprises

Artificial intelligence, for now, has associated itself closely with our lives, without even we realize that it’s there. Being it shooting up a query on Google, or shopping for your favorites on Amazon, -AI is there to transform our experience for better and make it more personalized.

Users are getting inclined towards comfortable and conversational interactions. Consequently, giants like Apple, Samsung, Google, Amazon, along with several other ventures are making it big with their product releases.

While 2018 marked a year of consumer voice assistant, 2020 is expected to be a year marking the entry of voice assistant into enterprise processes. Enterprises have begun realizing the importance of conversational technologies and making their best use to upgrade and advance a wide range of day-to-day business operations.

With advancements in the field of natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning, AI assistants are expected to grow more efficient. The end of 2020 is expected to witness an era of sophisticated AI assistants who are capable of anticipating our behavior, read facial expressions, and analyze habits.

#2. AI to Create More Jobs than it Eliminates

Downplaying the expected trait of AI to wipe out the jobs, Garter’s research rather claims that more jobs will be created by AI rather than being lost to it. It further emphasizes that AI is expected to take a toll on over 1.8 million jobs by the year 2020. However, it will also pave ways for the creation of 2.3 million new jobs.

For instance, consider a machine operator working in a garment factory. AI can automate some portion of his job, but there will always be some other roles like inventory management, overseeing other workers, or anything else that machines cannot supervise. On the other hand, imagine a factory with its headquarters in the USA and counterpart in Vietnam. While the American unit is more likely to technologically advanced, the other one is not expected to be as sound as the former. Thus, a typical worker’s day would comprise of non-routine tasks that cannot be automated.

Consequently, it is fair enough to say that while many of the non-manual jobs are likely to be lost to AI, it is also more like to generate new scopes. Moreover, repetitive tasks wouldn’t need to be performed by humans, and rather they can invest more time to enhance creative thinking while performing tangible tasks.

#3. AI to Leap Beyond Tech Companies

Well, AI and its capabilities are not just limited to technology. It has a much wider scope. According to McKinsey’s report, AI is expected to generate revenue of more than $10 trillion by the year 2030. Multiple industries are recognizing the potential of AI and leveraging it to bring in big disruptions. Ome of the early adopters, e-commerce and retail, is using AI to deliver customers with a better shopping experience while increasing the engagement rate. Users can now have the preferred items curated under the search results without even having to apply filters manually. Not only this, AI-powered digital assistants are now making their way to help users enjoy continuous customer support at the tip of their fingers.

Some of the other industries being disrupted by AI include:

Agriculture
Manufacturing
Law
Automotive
Healthcare
And many others.

#4. A Move Towards Transparent AI

“Black box problem” really proved to be a hindrance in wider acceptance of AI. The arcane and unfathomable working boggles the mind of innovators.

To exploit AI to its full potential it is very crucial for AI to attain great trust. Users need to know how their data is being extracted and how it is being put to use. How is data utilized to make decisions? Not only this, surveys have concluded that the fear of facing liabilities in the future (in case the technology turns our unethical in future) really hold them back from deploying it is the business processes.

These reasons make it necessary for the AI experts to decode the science behind this black box and to design measures to increase the transparency of AI. The year 2020 will see more emphasis being laid on this very need with giants coming to the rescue. To take the lead, IBM has unleashed the technology developed to enhance the traceablity of the decisions into its AI OpenScale technology. It aims to provide users with real-time insights into what decisions are being taken, how are they being made how is data connected, and a lot more.

#5. Demands for AI Skills to Increase

Just like every technology in its infancy, AI faces the dramatic issue of lack of technical skills that foster out-of-the-box and exception AI application development.

In other words, the AI realm is going through the short supply of manpower in the areas like machine learning.

However, with the democratization of AI expected to pace up in the upcoming years, tech giants, as well as small and medium-sized businesses, will be able to find and recruit talent in Ai very easily. Not only this, 2021 is also expected to witness tech giants like Amazon and Google are expected to have a global investment in expanding their talent pool.

Wrapping Up

AI’s application and use cases are now encompassing wider businesses and becoming a more vital part of our daily lives. As mentioned before, the potential of AI and machine learning is not just limited to certain industries but expands far beyond that. Enterprises are already harnessing the potential of AI to stay ahead of the competition curve. With that, we can really look forward to disruption the technology with more and more innovations coming up.

Kobe Demisana : The Jr. NBA’s Gentle Giant Makes It To The World Stage

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The Philippines has once again proven that when it comes to basketball, it can compete with the best in the world. In the recent Jr. NBA Asia-Pacific Selection Camp held for the first time in Jakarta, Indonesia, four out of ten Jr. NBA Philippines 2019 All-Stars became part of the Asia Pacific selection that will represent the region in the Jr. NBA Global Championship that will be held in Orlando, Florida on August 6-11, 2019.

The Philippines has the most number of representatives in the Boys Team for which other top junior players from Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines competed to be selected.

One of the young athletes who will get the chance to show off his basketball prowess on the world stage Jr. NBA All-Star and Alaska Ambassador Henjz Gabriel “Kobe” Demisana, a 6’5 14-year old from Bacolod.

Kobe’s quickness, body strength and soft touch to the basket impressed coaches in the Jr. NBA Asia-Pacific Selection Camp. "I feel very blessed. It’s a dream come true. I am really honored to represent the Philippines and our region to the Global Championship. I will bring all the lessons I learned from the Jr. NBA and Alaska in the global championships, especially the S.T.A.R. values," Kobe concluded.

The Jr. NBA STAR values of Sportsmanship, Teamwork, a positive Attitude and Respect are the core values of the program and is something that all Jr. NBA participants take to heart.

Kobe’s basketball journey started when he was eight, the year he first started playing basketball. It was his dad who influenced him to love the sport, he said. From then till now, he has always drawn inspiration from the hardcourt. Kobe vowed to always give his all inside the court and his family supported him all the way.

In 2018, he took his chances and joined the grassroots program of the National Basketball Association (NBA) when the Jr. NBA came to Bacolod. He outplayed his counterparts in the regional selection camp and got the chance to compete in the National Training Camp (NTC) as one of the Visayan region’s best. He also made it to the NTC’s Top 20 – the pool from which the year’s Jr. NBA All-Stars would be selected. But when the final selection was made, he did not make it to the All-Star team.

“After my Jr. NBA NTC stint last year, I was really down. But it did not stop me from continuing to work for my dreams. Aside from studying, I dedicated my time developing the skills that I need to improve my game,” said the soft-spoken center, the Gentle Giant of Bacolod’s Tay Tung High School. 

His not making it as an All-Star in 2018 turned out to be a blessing in disguise. He was destined for something bigger and better. He joined Jr. NBA Philippines 2019 presented by Alaska again, was chosen among the best in the Visayan regional tryouts once more, and made it to the National Training Camp in Manila just last May. This time his perseverance and all his hard work paid off. Jr. NBA Head Coach Carlos Barroca announced his name as one of five Jr. NBA All-Stars for 2019. And as he went up the stage, happy tears flowed. On top of that he was also named Alaska Ambassador, a testament to his character, pleasant personality and positive attitude.

Now, Kobe will be joined by fellow Filipinos Matthew Rubico, Sebastian Reyes and Camille Nolasco in the Asia Pacific Team that also includes one player each from Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand.

“I prepared myself physically and mentally. Last year, I was really scared to commit mistakes. But with what I learned from my previous Jr. NBA experience, I became more confident whenever I step inside the court. I do all the right things. I sleep early, eat the right kind and amount of food, do proper hydration, and always make sure I’m thinking positive. Nutrition and good health habits are just as important in basketball as training hard and polishing your skills,” Kobe said.