MANILA: In a contest for young Filipinos in senior high school, Honda Cars Philippines Inc. (HCPI) teams up with the Department of Science and Technology Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI).

The program “imake.wemake:create.innovate.collaborate” urges students to solve problems for their respective communities, or achieve a particular purpose using critical thinking, experimentation, risk analysis, engineering, and technical skills.

This year’s contest gathered a total of 89 project proposals from public and private high schools all over the Philippines, the biggest number of proposals received since the program started in 2017.

The MOA was signed in March 2023 at the Sequoia Hotel in Manila Bay, Paranaque, by DOST-SEI, HCPI, and additional program partners C&E Publications Inc. and Gokongwei Brothers Foundation. The five-day Technical Training, Workshop, and Mentoring program for the 20 school teams that made up the finalist field got under way on the same day. Dr. Josette T. Biyo, director of DOST-SEI, expressed her gratitude to the partners supporting young Filipino innovators.

“I believe that through our partnership, more doors of opportunities will be opened, and more young people will be primed to become scientists and innovators – creating and collaborating for a better future,” Dr. Biyo said.

Notably, the imake.wemake innovation competition empowers schools and universities to build communities of learners who also value resource and knowledge sharing, as well as a dynamic and collaborative approach towards creating solutions.

Through the partnership, three schools, to be selected by a distinguished Board of Judges, will each receive a Youth Innovation cash grant of P200,000. This would be after a build period of about 90 days allotted for finalists to design, build, and complete their working prototype, including test deployment in their chosen community.

“Honda Cars is honored to be a part of the imake.wemake program. What you are doing here truly resonates with us. As the students use their creative energies and smart ideas to craft solutions to many of society’s problems, Honda, the Power of Dreams, is unwavering about greater value through superior safety and environmental performance. We appreciate how this program promotes the application of science and technology in creating solutions and pursuing big dreams,” said HCPI Vice President, Atty. Louie Soriano.

Photos from Honda Cars Philippines Inc., and Roy Robles

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