The last stage of the 7th imake.wemake:create.innovate.collaborate competition culminated with the final presentation at the Citadines Bay City Manila in Pasay City on July 25 and 26. Here, the finalists from the top 20 schools who spent months of hard work on concept-mapping, intensive training, and a dedicated build period got to bring their ideas to life.
During the closing ceremony, the Department of Science and Technology-Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) awarded the three schools with the Youth Innovation Prize (YIP), following the criteria of novelty and patentability, functionality and unique selling point, collaboration, design and feasibility, extensibility, and practicability. These were Limay Senior High School, Iligan City National High School, and Bansud National High School-Regional Science High School for Mimaropa
Limay Senior High School’s “Efficient Code Recognition and Enhanced Auditory Device (EC-Read): Reading Assistive Device for Visually Impaired” uses the Arduino platform to quickly identify and convert QR codes into auditory information. Through this, it provides an affordable and efficient solution that significantly enhances the accessibility of both printed and digital materials for the visually impaired.
Iligan City National High School
Iligan City National High School’s “S.A.G.A.N.A: Smart Agriculture with Greenhouse Automated Nebulization and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Assessment” proposes a smart aeroponic system integrated with AI-driven computer vision to enhance agricultural productivity. It features efficient nutrient circulation and AI-powered computer vision to monitor plant growth, thereby addressing the challenges posed by traditional farming methods and climate change.
Bansud National High School’s “AquaStellar: Development of an Alternative and Low-Cost Portable Lamp Using Various Electrolytes Derivative Solutions” is designed to provide electricity to areas with unreliable or insufficient infrastructure. It uses detachable electrolyte cells, metal-metal electrodes, a 3D-printed chassis, and an Arduino Nano for intelligent control, making it suitable for both upland and lowland regions.
Bansud National High School
Engineer Albert G. Mariño, DOST-SEI Director, lauded the students, telling them that, because of the effort they’ve put in, they have already improved the present in order to build the future.
Among the key partners of DOST-SEI that make the imake.wemake:create.innovate.collaborate competition possible has been Honda Cars Philippines Inc (HCPI), as part of the Japanese carmaker’s commitment to empower the youth of today.
Similar to the participants of imake.wemake:create.innovate.collaborate, Soichiro Honda, one of the founders of Honda, was once also a young innovator. With the right push and resources, Honda believes today’s youth can accelerate communities towards sustainable and substantial solutions to today’s problems.
HCPI general manager of sales Aizza Flores said at the closing ceremony, “Mr. Honda was once like you—curious, eager to create, and unfazed by setbacks. He taught us that no matter how difficult the challenges are, you have the ability to create, freedom to innovate, and time to collaborate. Regardless of the outcome, take pride in even simply participating today. Please continue to invent the future for the next generations.”