Honda, C&E Publishing, GBF invest in Young Filipino Innovators through DOST-SEI's 6th imake.wemake

Wazzup Pilipinas!?




Innovators will see more support from big players in the field of science, technology, and innovation as the Department of Science and Technology – Science Education Institute signs Memorandum of Agreement with Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI), C&E Publishing, Inc. (CEPI), and Gokongwei Brothers Foundation (GBF) in the 6th edition of the imake.wemake:create.innovate.collaborate competition.

The signing ceremony, held on March 13, 2023 at the Sequoia Hotel – Manila Bay, Parañaque City, kicks off this year’s series of events for the imake.wemake competition, which is making its in-person comeback after two years of virtual runs.

Caption:
[L-R] DOST-SEI's sign partnership agreement to boost the promotion of science, technology and innovation among the youth. Dr. Josette T. Biyo, HCPI’s Atty. Louie Soriano, C&E Publishing’s Ms. Asela V. Javier and Ms. Graciela E. Mendoza.

Through the partnership, 20 finalists of the imake.wemake competition will have the chance to receive the C&E Adaptive Learning Solutions (ALS) Innovation Award, the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation Young Scientist Award, and three (3) Youth Innovation Prize awards with Php 200,000.00 cash grant each courtesy of HCPI.

DOST-SEI Director Dr. Josette T. Biyo expressed her gratitude to the partners who are investing in young Filipino innovators.

“I believe that through our partnership, more doors of opportunities will be opened, and more young people will be primed to become scientists and innovators – creating and collaborating for a better future,” said Dr Biyo.

Honda Cars Philippines, Inc.'s Vice President, Atty. Louie Soriano, congratulated DOST-SEI for the continuous success of the imake.wemake competition and affirms its oneness with the advocacy of promoting science, technology, engineering and mathematics in the country.

Ms. Asela V. Javier, business development and product marketing senior manager of C&E Publishing, Inc., delivered the message of support and gratitude of CEPI’s Chief Operations Officer, Mr. John Emyl Eugenio.

Ms. Graciela E. Mendoza of the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation, who has been DOST-SEI's partner in the competition since 2021 also graced the event and honored the young Filipino innovators’ role in forwarding innovation and boosting the country’s human resource capital in S&T.

After the signing ceremony, the top 20 school-teams from all-over the Philippines also began their first day in the 6th imake.wemake Bootcamp: Interfacing with the Arduino Platform and Electronics.

This year’s run of the imake.wemake received a total of 89 project proposals from public and private high schools nationwide. It is the biggest number of proposals received since its debut in 2017.

The finalists for the 6th imake.wemake are:

1. Alabel National Science High School - Regional Science High School for Region XII - "Project HAMOWG: Automated Atmospheric Potable Water Generator from Fog, Cool, and Warm Air"

2. Alaminos City National High School - “Automated Drying and Quality Controlling System for Rice Varieties”

3. Babag National High School - “CORNED: Communication Offline Response Network during Emergency Disasters”

4. Bansud National High School – Regional Science High School for MIMAROPA - “POXIFIER: An Assistive Medical Screening Device For Selected Skin Diseases Using Machine Learning Ensemble Embedded in a Mobile Application”

5. Cavite Science Integrated School - “ Project Kalinga: Geolocation Estimation of Forest Activities Using Triangulation and Sound Classification”

6. General Santos City National High School - “Barangay Automated Medicine Machine: A Solar-Powered Dispensing Device for Barangay Health Centers”

7. Iligan City National High School - "Pyre-Ranger: A Hybrid Eco-Friendly and Power-Sufficient Portable Incinerator for Personal Protective Gears and Plastics"

8. Jose Panganiban National High School - “TRITON: Underwater Drone for Detection and Removal of Crown-of-Thorns Starfish”

9. Kidapawan City National High School - “SAGIPMOKO: Emergency Search and Rescue Robot”

10. La Consolacion College Bacolod - “Project M.H.A.Y.A. (Maintenance and Harvest Automation using YOLO Algorithm): A Solar-powered Hydroponic Mushroom Farming Device”

11. Lala National High School - “Automated Calamansi Harvesting Robot”

12. Luis Palad Integrated High School - “Deep Learning ALPS: An Ensemble Model Device for the Detection of Rice Blast Disease (Magnaporthe oryzae) and Rice Field Soil Amendments with SMS Alert Reporting System”

13. Mamali National High School - “School-Based Four-Wheeled Cellphone Controlled Fire Fighting Robot”

14. Narvacan National Central High School - “Go, Grow, Glow: Green Tech Aquaponics”

15. Philippine Science High School - CALABARZON - “SAMGIOP: Development of an IoT-based Sensory Device for the Monitoring of Leaf Damage and Abiotic Factors in Cabbage (Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis) using Raspberry Pi”

16. Polangui General Comprehensive High School - “Prototype Arduino Programmed Agribot”

17. Tabalong National High School - “PROJECT APPRA or Automatic Pick and Place Robotic Arm with the Combination of EV3 and Arduino”

18. Tanauan City Integrated High School - “Project HEXADS: Automated IoT-based Intelligent Capturing and Rearing Device for Endangered Sardinella tawilis (Herre, 1927) Conservation in Ex Situ Captivity”

19. University of Saint Louis – Tuguegarao - “Project FLAME: Flood Alert Monitoring & Eco-conscious Vessel Powered by Arduino System”

20. Vinzons Pilot High School - “E-quia: Remotely Operated Electrostatic Collector of Microplastics and Other Pollutants in Freshwater Environments”

Cover Photo Caption:

Top 20 school-teams pose for a photo with the officials of DOST-SEI, HCPI, C&E Publishing, Inc., and GBF as they are about to begin the first day of the 6th imake.wemake bootcamp.

Leisure and Resorts World Corporation changes name to DigiPlus Interactive Corp.

Wazzup Pilipinas!?




One of the leading providers in the leisure and entertainment industry, Leisure & Resorts World Corporation (LRWC) is now known as DigiPlus Interactive Corporation (DigiPlus).

LRWC, one of the top experts in the retail gaming market, announced today that it has officially changed its name to DigiPlus Interactive Corp. following its receipt of the SEC "Certificate of Filing of Amended Articles of Incorporation" which the SEC issued on 28 February 2023.

The company has been sharing its expertise in the retail gaming market for more than 20 years and has continuously provided world-class multi-gaming platforms with a strong distribution network of entertainment sites all over the country. Along with the name change, the company pledges better services and products from all of the company’s subsidiaries and related companies.

“The company welcomes this change because we strategically thought of and created a stronger identity that will help us become the best version of what we are as a company. Our new brand name reflects what we are all about: fun, innovation, advanced technology, digitalization and most of all, collaboration,” said Andy Tsui, DigiPlus Interactive Corp. President. “We’re very thrilled to share with all of you what we have prepared this year.”

PLDT Group and Nokia advocate for a digitally empowered business landscape

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Many research studies have shown that digital transformation remains to be a fundamental strategy for businesses to stay relevant. Harvard Business Review predicts game-changing technologies like 5G, AI, and the cloud to be front-runners for mass adoption in the next few years while global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company reports that 71% of the 79 largest consumer firms globally have already put down stakes in the metaverse. And as businesses today are faced with challenges on sustainability, it is achievable through data-driven insights and innovative solutions.

These were the trending topics during the Philippine Digital Convention 2022 (PH Digicon). PLDT Enterprise, the business arm of the largest fully integrated telco services provider PLDT, discussed how innovations are expected to change the business landscape after the pandemic during the panel discussion, “Going Beyond the Future of Tech.”

The panel, moderated by PLDT and Smart FVP and Group Head of Corporate Communications, Catherine Yap-Yang, was joined by ePLDT President and CEO, Victor Genuino, Nokia Vice President and Head of Southeast Asia, Daniel Jaeger, and Cisco IOT APJC Senior Sales Director, Simon Rizkallah.

ePLDT President and CEO, Victor Genuino, talked about enterprises adapting to digital change, to respond to evolving needs of their customers.

“Enterprises have realized that in order to remain relevant to their customers, they have to digitally transform, disrupt themselves and the way they conduct business,” says ePLDT President and CEO, Victor Genuino.

Nokia Vice President and Head of Southeast Asia, Daniel Jaeger, discussed the digital transformation happening from within their organization.

When it comes to disruption, global tech giant Nokia is a pioneer. Operating in various industries for over 155 years, it wasn’t until the 1990s that Nokia focused its operations on large-scale telecommunications infrastructure, technology development, and licensing. Since then, Nokia has been operating in 130 countries, won nine Nobel prizes, and has been a trusted partner for critical networks, committed to innovation and technology leadership across mobile, fixed, and cloud networks. They have gone from ‘connecting people’ to now ‘helping the world act together’.

“Indeed, the tagline that we are carrying now is much bigger than the previous one,” shares Daniel Jaeger, Nokia Vice President and Head of Southeast Asia. “It has not completely changed, but…became a bit bigger. Yes, we are still connecting people with technology that we provide with the networks that we build and partners like Smart and PLDT, but it goes way beyond that.”

Just like the theme for the 2022 conference, Nokia continues to embody what it means to be ‘boundless’ going above and beyond for its partners and customers and expanding their technology portfolio to help build the capabilities needed for a more productive, sustainable, and inclusive post-pandemic world.

Adding to Nokia’s commitment and capabilities is their pledge towards an environmentally friendly and sustainable future. As they said at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference or COP26 climate summit in November 2021: “There is no green without digital.” Nokia wants to lead the way on the global stage in making the case for digitalization as central to addressing the climate challenge.

Jaeger echoed this commitment when he said, “Of course, we start at home, and the first question is how do we make the networks that we build as efficient and as green as possible?”

“It’s not just a job that we have to do,” he explains further. “But it’s really a contribution that we as the communications industry, in a broader sense, need to do.”

Nokia has made the call for accelerated digitalization and green energy uptake and has committed to use 100% renewable electricity in its own operations by 2025.

ePLDT, on the other hand, has been an advocate of sustainability by pushing for greener data centers in the country. Genuino believes that sustainability starts with the customers. “They've been asking us difficult questions that push us to reassess how we run our business,” he says. “It’s our customers that drive us to be innovative in the way we build [our] data centers, source power and manage our operations.”

More than servicing its customers, it has been one of the PLDT Group's core values to champion a sustainable future as it continues to build infrastructures to improve the country's digital ecosystem.

From helping the world connect to ensuring that it does so in as green as possible, Nokia and the PLDT Group are paving the way for the future– in building a sustainable and transformative tomorrow.

PH Digicon remains to be the Philippines’ most prestigious, and one of the most sought-after digital thought leadership events in APAC that brings together global thought leaders and technology experts from across all industries. For more information, visit https://pldtenterprise.com/.