iBlog La Salle

Team Animo of De La Salle University placed second in the recent 2015 Sikat Design Challenge. Six teams presented their pitches last February 2 at The Loft, Manansala Tower, Makati City. The top three teams, including the Team Animo, were awarded after the pitches. The team from the Mapua Institute of Technology emerged as the champions while Team Animo of DLSU and the team from ADMU shared the seat as runner ups.

Team Animo DLSU-Manila is comprised of Jeremy Magdaong, Gabriel Baltazar,  Joshah Chua, Reii Nakano, Calvin Tiu, Vance Vazquez, Engr. Jeremias Gonzaga (Faculty Adviser), Engr. Isidro Marfori (Faculty Adviser), and Mr. Charlie Valerio (Industry Coach from Lopez Group Company)

For four months, the twelve teams were asked to create, to develop, and document an idea that would help their chosen community. For the DLSU team, the idea of an integrated modular microhydro generator and aquaponics system was developed for Sitio Apia in Antipolo, Rizal. This would help the community generate electricity with the micro-hydro while producing high value crops and fishes with the aquaponics system.

The 2015 Sikat Design Challenge is the country’s first national inter-university competition which focuses purely on Renewable Energy (RE) solutions targeted at the rural sector. It is organized by the Sikat Solar Car Foundation, Inc and it is captured by the tagline “Inspiring the Youth, Collaborating with All Stakeholders, and Uplifting the Lives of the Rural Communities.”

The Sikat Design Challenge has 12 participating teams from different universities across the country, including De La Salle University’s Team Animo. The other participating universities are the following:

1. Ateneo De Manila University
2. Batangas State University
3. Bulacan State University
4. Foundation University
5. Mapua Institute of Technology (MIT)
6. Negros Oriental State University
7. Polytechnic University of the Philippines
8. St. Paul University – Dumaguete
9. Siliman University
10. University of San Carlos – Cebu
11. University of Santo Thomas