AIPO and SOSE honor winners of the SOSE-SVBB Competition for Student Research with the Highest IP Potential

On 10 May 2024, the Ateneo de Manila University School of Science and Engineering (SOSE), together with the Sapalo-Velez-Bundang-Bulilan (SVBB) Law Offices, Ateneo Research Institute of Science and Engineering (ARISE), and the Ateneo Intellectual Property Office (AIPO), announced the runners-up and overall winner of the SOSE-SVBB Competition for Student Research with the Highest IP Potential.

The competition was held as part of SOSE Week 2024, where students from sciences and engineering clusters across all year levels were invited to submit their invention summaries and pitch decks. Participants were given the chance to win a cash prize funded by the SVBB endowment fund, as well as assistance from the AIPO for patent application and possible further incubation.

Entries were initially screened by the AIPO’s selection committee. Finalists were then selected and invited to present their pitch presentations to a panel of judges on May 9 at the Escaler Hall inside the Science and Education Complex (SEC) A building of the Loyola Schools campus. To commence the final segment of the competition, Dr Processo Fernandez Jr, Director of AIPO gave his welcome remarks, where he detailed the process and criteria used by the panel to assess the finalists.

Presentations were evaluated based on the patentability of their research output, comprising 50% of the total score. Market potential and commercial readiness made up 40%, while promotion of resilience and sustainability accounted for the final 10%. Finalists were required to present their research on stage and answer several questions from the judges. The panel included (from right to left) Dr Processo Fernandez Jr, Ms Vanessa Malapit MSc, Head of the Protection and Education Group of AIPO, and Mr Antonio Feria, faculty of the John Gokongwei School of Management (JGSOM). 

A total of 7 researchers made it to the final selection stage. What then took place was a display of talent and creativity. Finalists showcased their research and solutions that targeted a wide range of issues faced by modern-day Filipinos. These included food processing and packaging, safety and protection, medical technologies, wastewater treatment, and automation. 

The following day, winners of the competition were announced as part of the 2024 SOSE Outstanding Student Research Awarding Ceremony. The runners-up included the teams of Gian Carlo Fernandez and Jed Matthew San Luis with their research on Aninag: Multi-level Solar Dryer for Agriculture, as well as Ericka Michelle Factor with her research on pH-responsive Edible Food Wraps. 

The overall winner for the competition was Alliyah Romaine Delin, from the BS Chemistry and BS Materials Science & Engineering program, with her research on Hydrophilized Textile: From Waste Cloth to Filter. Ms Delin and Ms Factor conducted their research under the guidance of Dr Jose Mario Diaz, while Mr Fernandez and Mr San Luis were mentored by Dr Erees Queen B Macabebe and Dr Robert Alfie S Peña. All awardees were given recognition and certificates by Dr Raphael A Guerrero, Dean of the School of Science and Engineering.

The Ateneo Intellectual Property Office and School of Science and Engineering recognize the effort and skill poured by all finalists into their research and congratulate the winners of the event.

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