UP Diliman team reaches finals in Shell’s 'Pitch the Future' global competition

MANILA: Team Alamat UP from the University of the Philippines-Diliman, with its discussion of CO₂ emissions in an approach that allows consumers to save on fuel costs through a mobile application, was recognized Asia’s Champions recently, and have reached the final phase of the “Pitch the Future” competition of Shell.

“Pitch the Future” is a series of tournaments that put together groups of students worldwide to address real-world energy concerns.

It is also involved in a new Virtual League that Shell has incorporated into its Shell Eco-Marathon (SEM) program, one of the top student engineering competitions that has improved youth science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills.

Yearly, SEM welcomes students globally to design, create, as well as operate a few of the most energy-efficient vehicles in the world. It also brings to life the mission of Shell to drive change through safer energy solutions.

The competition, conducted in a spirit of advancement and teamwork, is meant to realize and use the brilliant ideas of students to establish a lower carbon future for everyone.

Shell Eco-marathon Global General Manager Norman Koch said, “We congratulate Alamat UP from the University of the Philippines-Diliman for making the finals of our inaugural 'Pitch the Future' competition. Our judges were hugely impressed by the great energy, innovative thinking, and creativity that the team brought to the competition. We are looking forward to their final presentation. 'Pitch the Future' is an incredible opportunity for students to apply their STEM skills and passion for developing solutions to some of the world’s most pressing energy challenges, and it is a welcome addition to the Shell Eco-marathon program.”

The student team, comprised nine students who are learning a variety of disciplines, is one of the three groups that have made it to the international finals of the Microsoft-sponsored “Tracking and Reducing CO₂ Emissions from Vehicles” challenge.

For this specific challenge, the team created the CO₂ Emission Reduction Operation mobile application, or CERO, which enables users to monitor both resulting emissions and fuel consumption. Through this app, users abandon the need for installation of external sensors.

Moreover, they utilize the app to evaluate their own actions when it comes to carbon emissions. It also provides them “eco-driving” recommendations that will aid them in saving up on fuel costs while decreasing their carbon footprint.

The team will compete against regional champions from both the Americas and Europe and will show their ideas live to a group of industry specialists on November 19 and 20. Highlights from the pitches will also be made available publicly for viewing. Shell will also declare the winners on December 11, 2020.

Over 130 teams from across the Americas, Europe, and Asia have submitted entries for one or more “Pitch the Future” challenges.

A total of 13 teams were chosen to proceed to the final round in four challenge categories, with three contenders in every category as well as a wild card entry for the Best Newcomer Team for the e-mobility phase.

The top five entries for each region in every challenge will obtain 25 Shell Eco-marathon Virtual League points. The regional winners of every mini-challenge will be given $750 and additional 50 Virtual League points. 

Furthermore, the global winner of every challenge will be given $1,500 plus 100 Virtual League points.

Aside from the “Tracking and Reducing CO₂ Emissions from Vehicles” category, the other challenges involved Decarbonizing Road Freight Transport with Shell Lubricants, Decarbonizing the Home with Shell Energy, and Electric Vehicle Battery Recharging with Shell Recharge.

Shell also collaborated with Adobe to provide participating teams with access to Adobe Creative Cloud for six months.

The NXplorers of Shell also hosted webinars to aid contestants in using efficient approaches for problem-solving.

Everyone can check here for more details on “Pitch the Future” as well as the other challenges. It also includes more information on the teams that were able to enter the final phase of the competition.

Photos from Shell

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