Three Industrial Engineering (IE) students from Saint Louis University (SLU) won Third Prize for the Prosperity Category of the prestigious Swiss Innovation Prize Competition 2024 through their paper entitled, “Project IE: Innovative Food Process Manufacturing with learning technology and Dynamic Pricing System” held by the Embassy of Switzerland and the Swiss Cultural Fund on 21 November 2024.
SLU IE students, Hazael Barino, Robelyn Malla, and Alenklien Tongnawa, developed the paper during their on-the-job training at Session Groceries under the supervision of Iloisa Romaraog-Diga. The paper made it as a finalist after two rounds of screening from 162 entries from all over the country by other undergraduate students, graduate students, and young professionals. They were prepared and coached by Engr. Anthony James Domingo of the SLU Industrial Engineering Department.
Before the competition proper, they were allowed to visit different Swiss companies where their horizons broadened on applying theoretical principles in the different industries. This opportunity gave these three students a range of experiences from industry experience to leadership training sessions from leaders of the Swiss Companies in the Philippines as well as insights from leaders of Philippine Agencies involved in Innovation: The Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL).
Through this event, the SLU IE students were able to leverage their knowledge of IE principles that they learned from SLU to accomplish the project, aligning it with several Sustainable Development Goals like SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities). The project is focused on helping farmers increase their income and reduce food waste. (Article and Photo by Anthony Domingo)
