ASHS team wins 1st place at UP Industrial Engineering Expo's Case Competition

Representing Ateneo de Manila Senior High School (ASHS), Team IExengenium was crowned Senior High School Champion in the Industrial Engineering Expo Praxis (IEx Praxis) Case Competition on 7 February 2026 at the Cesar E.A. Virata School of Business, University of the Philippines Diliman. The team bested senior high school competitors from UP Integrated School (UPIS), De La Salle Zobel, and Mapúa University.

Composed of Ateneans Basti Dela Cruz (11-Wright), Liz Estanislao (11-Realino), Andrea Mangubat (11-Nakaura), Chelsea Temprosa (11-Owen), and Aen Zafra (11-Mayer), Team IExengenium earned top honors in the Senior High School division for Torre Kubo—an affordable, mechanically simplified innovation inspired by vertical farming towers and designed specifically to address the needs of urban farmers. Their proposal emphasized sustainability, cost-efficiency, and accessibility for small-scale growers.

The Industrial Engineering Expo Praxis (IEx Praxis): Case Competition is a flagship project of Industrial Engineering students of the University of the Philippines Diliman. Held annually, the interschool event gathers senior high school teams to tackle real-world socio-economic challenges using Industrial Engineering principles such as systems thinking, feasibility analysis, and sustainability modeling. The first round of the 2026 competition was conducted online on 12 January 2026, followed by onsite finals before a panel of academic and industry judges. The competition challenges students to develop practical, data-driven solutions with meaningful community impact.

This year’s case centered on the pressing realities faced by urban farmers in selected areas of Quezon City, particularly economic and political injustices such as land insecurity and unstable livelihoods. Teams were tasked with proposing a practical and innovative solution that farmers could realistically implement, with the most feasible proposal awarded Php 10,000. The event fostered a dynamic exchange of ideas among young innovators from various institutions. 

Chosen by the Mathematics and Applied Sciences District to represent ASHS, Team IExengenium expresses its gratitude for the opportunity to represent the school, and to present its ideas directly to stakeholders and members of the academic and industrial engineering community.