Senior High Students Battle It Out in Tech Contest imake.wemake

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The best science and technology projects are ones that can truly uplift communities. This is the idea behind the3rd imake.wemake, an innovative technology project competition for senior high school students.

Organized by the Department of Science and Technology-Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) in partnership with leading educational materials publisher and distributor C&E Publishing, Inc., the competition seeks to unleash the creativity of young Filipinos in innovation using accessible technologies.

Students will get the opportunity to pitch, build, and present their science and technology projects that cater to important societal and community issues. This year, participants will use the Arduino CTC 101 kit to build their projects.

DOST-SEI Director Dr. Josette Biyo said that the project aims to improve the students’ engineering and technical proficiencies, as well as develop their communication, critical and analytical thinking skills.

The competition comes in three stages: 1) Call for Proposals and Selection: 2) Technical Training/Workshop and Project Pitching; and 3) Final Project Presentation and Judging.

To join, a team composed of (3) three Grade 11 and/or Grade 12 students and (1) one teacher per school may submit a project proposal addressing any of the following areas: food safety, security, traffic/road congestion, health, education, disaster mitigation, entrepreneurship, agriculture, and environment. This should be accompanied by a 2-3 minute video supporting the concept.

School teams passing the selection process will be invited to attend a five-day technical training/workshop on basic electronics, programming, troubleshooting, and presentation skills. Each team will also get free kit-of-parts.

Teams will be given a build and testing period of three months prior to the final project presentation and judging. The projects will be evaluated by the board of judges based on relevance and potential impact on the community of interest, novelty, viability, and community engagement.

Three school teams will win P100,000 cash prize and The Youth Innovation Prize each.

Deadline for submission of proposals is on August 10, 2019. Contest mechanics and entry form may be downloaded at bit.ly/3rdimake_entryform andbit.ly/3rdimake_mechanics.

For details, visit facebook/imake.wemake or email imake.wemake@gmail.com.



Photo captions:

1) DOST-SEI inks partnership with C&E Publishing for the 3rd imake.wemake competition. The MOA signing was held on July 17, 2019 amid the celebration of the National Science Technology Week celebration at the World Trade Center in Pasay City. In photo are (L-R sitting) C&E Publishing COO Mr. John Emyl Eugenio and DOST-SEI Director Dr. Josette Biyo with (L-R standing) C&E Publishing VP for Strategic Partnership and Growth Markets Mr. Gerric Gomez, Event Host Ms. Ganiel Krishnan, and DOST-SEI Deputy Director Engr. Albert Mariño.

2) Students from the Technological Institute of the Philippines-Cubao Campus showcase their winning project from last year’s imake.wemake, “Project Anitun Tabu” weather advisory system, at the 2019 National Science and Technology Week.

DOST-SEI Launches New Science Bus “nuLab”

Wazzup Pilipimas!

Senior high school students can get a glimpse of the emerging science careers in “nuLab”, the new mobile science learning facility of the Department of Science and Technology-Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI).

This is DOST-SEI’s second science bus for Filipino learners, following the success of the Science Explorer, which has served around 32,000 elementary and high school students in more than 100 municipalities all over the country since 2010.

While the Science Explorer mostly caters to younger students, nuLab is primarily intended for senior high school students.

The advanced STEM modules feature topics such as nanotechnology, aerospace engineering, nuclear science, earthquake risk analysis, science media literacy, programming, oceanography, robotics, entomology, and environmental science.

The modules are specially designed to help students discover their potentials in the various STEM fields and to encourage them to take tertiary courses where they are most inclined to succeed and excel. In nuLab, students are also encouraged to apply to the DOST-SEI Undergraduate Scholarships, the agency’s flagship program.

During nuLab’s launch at the 2019 National Science and Technology Week (NSTW) on July 17, 2019 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City, DOST-SEI Director, Dr. Josette Biyo, expressed hope that nuLab would be as successful as the Science Explorer in reaching out to target beneficiaries.

Equipped with a huge interactive board, individual monitor for students, laboratory-grade equipment, wireless sensors and more, nuLab offers a modern mobile learning environment that can help pique students’ interest in the sciences. It can accommodate 24 students in one session and hold two sessions per day.

For its first run, nuLab will conduct sessions throughout the NSTW. Astrophysicist Dr. Rogel Mari Sese, marine biologist Dr. Aletta Yñiguez, entomologist Dr. Aimee Dupo, Engr. Myra Ruth Poblete and other top young scientists, engineers, and science communicators are slated to facilitate modules they’ve developed with curriculum experts to senior high school students from various schools in Metro Manila.

For its first-ever road trip, NuLab will visit the province of Ilocos Norte on September 17-19 and will cross the sea for the first time to serve students in Iloilo on October 21-24. It will close out the year by inspiring students from Bontoc, Mt. Province on Nov. 18-22.

12 Ways to Get Creative with Beds for Constraimed Spaces

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Setting up a home can be a task at times, but a rather rewarding one when it's all complete. The best part about arranging your home is having the freedom to do it your way. There are so many factors that come into play at this time - time, budget, space, availability, and so on, which is why it requires planning and a little foresight.

If you do have a constrained space at home and aren't sure how you can make the most of it while setting up your bed, we suggest that you get creative! The standard large bed can require too much space, and when that isn't feasible, you could get stuck in the process of setting it up.

Along with the space available, even the size of the mattress you buy needs to be accurate. You should check out the right mattress sizes and dimension for your needs while setting the room up.

Read on to look at some interesting, creative ways of setting up a bed in a smaller space, without compromising on any basic comforts:


1. Bunker

Bunk beds (one on top of the other) are perfect for families that have more than one child. It's a great way to let the kids sleep in the same room but also not have to share the same mattress. Bunker beds are great for saving space because they're more vertical than horizontal in build.

And, of course, you can get creative with the theme of the bed, like a superhero theme or a princess theme.


2. Foldable

Foldable beds are ingenious, especially for smaller apartments and rooms. These can be folded.out when one needs to sleep and then folded back in, either to form an alternative seating arrangement of completely folded into the wall and then camouflaging with the wall. These beds are usually good for a single person to sleep on and can be fitted with a comfortable mattress. It's also a great option for an 'extra bed' in case there's a guest at home.

3. Sofa cum bed

A lot of hotels have sofa cum beds, and they're quite useful. It's perfect for setting up a sleeping area in the living room, which can also double up as a comfortable couch. And if the whole gang wants to enjoy the comfort of lying down and watching a movie together, a sofa cum bed can be a great option. This saves space for sure but also increases utility at the same time.


4. Vertical

Vertical pull-out beds have been around for decades, and for studio or small apartments, they save a ton of space. The entire bed goes into the wall and can be vertically pulled out when one wants to sleep. This creates a lot of free space for movement or adding other pieces of furniture, or simply makes the area look a lot more spacious when the bed is retracted.

5. Roll out (trundle)

A roll out bed is quite similar to a sofa cum bed, but it happens to be less chunky in build. Sofa cum beds are quite thick because of all the bedding and upholstery, whereas a trundle bed can simply be rolled out from under the sofa and rolled back in when it's been used. Trundle beds can be used for extra bedding space as well; all you have to do is add it as an extension to a larger bed. It's great for additional guests or even for kids who'd like to sleep in their parents' room.


6. Alcove

Leaving too much of a gap between the bed and the walls or windows can be a waste of space if it's a smaller room. Instead, like an alcove bed, one can almost attach the bed to the window.

This is a great idea for a cottage-like design, where one can wake up to a view through the window, and it also makes the room look larger.


7. Sofa cum bunker

A sofa cum bunker is the perfect bed for a kids room that is also a play or study room. The sofa or seating area would be at the bottom, while a short ladder leads to the top, which has a bed.

You can also add in a desk or a playpen below instead of a sofa, and turn a constrained space into an all-in-one area for the kids to enjoy themselves. This also works really well for students and bachelors who have small rooms.


8. Elevated

An elevated bed creates a loft-like space below it, where one can make the most of storage requirements and save on cupboard space. A tiny flight of stairs leads to the bed, while a small door or sliding panel opens up the space below where you can store your clothes, bedding material, toys, extra crockery, or absolutely anything else that can help save space in another area of the house.


9. Bed with desk

For students and young professionals, especially, this type of bed can be resourceful. Instead of folding into a wall and creating a seating area, it creates a desk where one can read, work, set up their laptops, monitors, and so on. Especially for a study room, this creates an additional resting space and also eliminates the need to have a separate area for study or work purposes.

10. Lofty bed

A lofty bed is the perfect example of compartmentalization. It has several hidden compartments where you can store multiple things, and these aren't just below the bed but all around it. You can also create shelves in such a bed where you can keep showpieces, create a mini library, and also fit in a TV against a flat wooden board and turn it into a resting cum entertainment center.


11. Reclining bed

Recliner beds are similar to reclining couches, but just a little more comfortable and spacious.

They can be reclined whenever required and then retracted back and used for seating otherwise. While these are similar again to sofa cum beds, they're more suitable for people who live alone and don't want to invest separately in a bed and a comfortable couch.

12. Play tent cum bed

For kids, especially, a play fortress cum sleeping area is the most creative way to utilize space.

Here, you can set up a tent where they can play, and also keep separate bedding aside that can be fitted in when it's bedtime. For safety, you can build a small indoor fence around the area.

Add in some fun these, a wallpaper and stickers, and you've created a little fun fort for the kids without needing a lot of space!


In a Nutshell

A creatively used space can be beneficial for so many different reasons. We often tend to take up more space than required, and later on, feel the pinch. Instead, keeping comfort and utility in mind, a bed can be set up in so many different ways. And it serves as a fun DIY project too!

So go ahead, try out these ideas, and we hope you find one that suits you best!