News and Features
Bulacan State University Tops 3rd SWEEP Innovation And Excellence Awards
[March 31, 2007/ Manila] The Smart PhoneGuard wireless application designed by 5th year Computer Engineering (CoE) students of Bulacan State University bested 57 other entries at this year’s 3rd SWEEP Innovation and Excellence Awards. Second prize was awarded to Systems Plus College Foundation’s SMARTHOUSE; while the third top post went to Ateneo de Davao University’s Vehicle Emergency Locator.
Smart President and CEO Napoleon L. Nazareno and Smart Planning and Engineering Head Mar G. Tamayo personally congratulated the winning teams during the awarding ceremony held recently at the Mall of Asia Music Hall.
The plum cash prize of P500,000 was awarded to the Bulacan State University team composed of faculty adviser Ma. Magdalena V. Gatdula, team leader Rexcel Balatbat, and members Jasmin Macalino, Carmelita Mendoza, Ferdinand Nicdao and Reginald Payuran. Their school also received P500,000 in grant.
With the theme “Safety in Connectivity” in mind, the first-placers came up with a service application that protects against phone theft. It allows the phone signal to be blocked even if the sim card is changed. In addition, it can lock the inbox & memory card to protect confidential files.
Graduating CoE students of Systems Plus College Foundation in Angeles, Pampanga received P300,000 in cash for designing SMARTHOUSE, an SMS-based home security system. Systems Plus got an equivalent amount in grant. The team includes Mark Semsem, Jason Tiamson, and Jeremy Velasquez, with mentor Engr. Reylen Garcia.
Althea Delfin, Nico Pepito, and Glenn Tancontian, Electronic and Communication Engineering (ECE) seniors at the Ateneo De Davao University, together with teacher-mentor Engr. Marloue Pidor, won P150,000 in cash prize. Another P150,000 in grant was awarded to their school. The Emergency Vehicle Locator is a communications medium capable of sending out text messages to pre-listed contacts in case of a vehicular emergency, while also able to determine the car’s exact location.
Other teams that made it to the finals were given P30,000 each as merit awards. These included two more teams from the Bulacan State University, another team from Systems Plus College Foundation, and teams from New Era College, Ateneo De Manila University, and Adamson University.
A special People’s Choice Award, with a P5,000 cash reward, went to Bulacan State University’s Lyndon R. Cruz and his teammates for their Smart Lock Intercom application which garnered 2,002 votes as the visitors’ favorite entry.
Working models of all nine final entries were available for public viewing during the two-day SWEEP Awards event held at the Mall of Asia Music Hall.
A highlight of the event was the 3rd palaECEpan competition, a battle of intellectual prowess among engineering students from SWEEP partner schools. This year’s smartest, receiving P40,000 in cash prize, is Rodney O. Sia, 5th year ECE student from the University of St. La Salle Bacolod.
A mini job fair was also hosted by the PLDT group of companies – PLDT, PLDT Global, Smart and e-PLDT (Infocom, i-Plus, Ventus, Netopia, LevelUp, SPI Technologies).
Student participants and visitors likewise enjoyed interactive booths, free Internet surfing, free online gaming, raffle draws and games. They too were treated to musical performances by today’s popular bands and teen idols including Dennis Trillo, Lovi Poe, Kitchie Nadal, and Chris Cayzer.
The SWEEP Innovation and Excellence Awards is an annual event open to SWEEP partner schools. It is staged by Smart Communications, Inc. as part of its community service initiative, the Smart Wireless Engineering Education Program (SWEEP), an industry-academe partnership program that helps raise the level of technology and engineering education, particularly in the field of Electronic and Communication Engineering.
This year’s event was held in partnership with Ericsson, Sysnet Integrators, Alcatel Lucent, Nokia Networks, Manila Bulletin, Cebu Pacific, Bayview Park Hotel, Infocom, Microdata, Smart Buddy, Smart Bro, Smart Click, Smart Money, Smart Entrepreneurship Program, PLDT, PLDT WeRoam, Netopia, LevelUp and Wolfpac. @
