In 2013, a Philippine duo composed of Ateneo De Manila University students Alyssa Vintola and Lorenz Payonga won the global finals of Schneider Electric’s Go Green in the City competition in Paris, France, with their Oscillation Hump or “Oscillohump” project. Oscillohump was designed to harvest energy from road humps through electromagnetic induction. When vehicles encounter an Oscillohump, they press springs which plunge magnets into solenoids, generating enough power to charge a battery. The battery can then be used to power DC loads like LED street lamps, traffic lights or closed-circuit television (CCTV) while excess energy can be used for power grids.
In 2015, John Paul Santos and Christian Sta. Romana from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines grabbed the third prize of the global competition with their Electrifilter project, which generates electricity as it cleanses waste water.
Last year, De La Salle University-Manila students Iliana Benice Tan and Aaron Jules Del Rosario represented the country and finished first runner-up in the regional finals for their “Glass X” project, which “showcases a design that absorbs the heat being received by buildings from the sun. The heat absorbed is then converted into energy that can be used for the buildings’ own cooling systems, making the overall design versatile, extractive and sustainable.”
These winning all-Filipino teams have built a reputation for the Philippines as one of the more promising countries where the youth could truly make a mark in an energy-sustainable future.
Worldwide, energy management company Schneider Electric has been encouraging the youth to unleash their inner environmentalist with its advocacy “Go Green in the City”, which features innovations by business and engineering students worldwide.
Now on its eighth year, “Go Green in the City” challenges thousands of students to come up with “bold ideas” that can solve one of the four real-life challenges within energy management, or present an original idea for efficient energy management in a city environment.
The advocacy drew about 20,000 students from 3,000 universities in 180 countries last year. This year, the competition is now open to students of computer science, information technology, applied mathematics, physics and other related courses.
“Go Green in the City 2018” is focusing on digitization, and is tackling a broader range of topics. The students will have to choose one in five categories that include sustainability and inclusivity, the digital economy, smart supply chain, cybersecurity, or “no boundaries/bold idea for going green.”
As new challenges arise, Schneider Electric introduced new categories in addition to the popular “sustainability and inclusivity” and “no boundaries” categories. Students can now work around the digital economy, economy, smart supply chain, and cybersecurity categories, which clearly illustrates the focus on digitization.
“Schneider Electric is committed to helping solve the world’s energy problems,” said Rochelle Bulan, Go Green in the City Project Lead since 2015 and Country Manager for Talent Acquisition and Employer Branding, Schneider Electric Philippines. “Go Green in the City is Schneider Electric’s way of enabling young innovators to become a part of this movement. Allowing them to freely exercise their creativity, we help them gain critical insights from our industry and develop their bold and sustainable ideas, making them more effective and impactful.”
To join “Go Green in the City 2018”, just form a team of two, wherein one must be a female in accordance with Schneider Electric’s policy of promoting diversity and inclusion. Register at the Go Green in the City website (HYPERLINK: https://www.gogreeninthecity.com/).
“All shortlisted teams will receive mentoring by Schneider Electric experts to produce viable business cases to present at one of seven regional semifinals over the summer in Europe, North America, China, India, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, and South America. Each of the seven regional winners will then be invited to prepare for the competition final, along with one outstanding all-female team, two ‘wild-card’ teams, which are additional teams selected from the semi-finalists, and the winning team from the 2018 Paris Innovation Summit Hackathon,” the Go Green in the City media release states.
“After this second round of mentoring, 10 teams will meet at the global final in the United States in the autumn. The global winning team selected by the executive jury will be offered the chance to start a career at Schneider Electric, after an international travel to visit any two locations of their choice worldwide, where Schneider Electric offices are present.”
Winners will receive cash prizes and professional mentorship by Schneider experts and early career engagement and coaching plus bragging rights for getting the Go Green Champs Award, Women in Business Award, and Social Star Award.
Deadline for submission of entries is on June 1. The global finals is in November in Atlanta, Georgia.