Saint Louis University (SLU) brought Grade 12 students, educators, city planners, and technology leaders together on 30 July 2026, for a research and innovation seminar aimed at turning classroom ideas into practical solutions for Baguio City.
Held at the Gerard Decaestecker Function Hall, SLU Navy Base Campus, the seminar equipped young researchers with approaches for addressing local concerns while aligning their work with global sustainability goals.
The seminar titled “RE:IMAGINE 2026: Research. Empower. Innovate.” and themed “From Local Insights to Global Impact-Designing Research That Matters,” was organized by members of SLU’s Science and Research departments. Almark Bisaya, moderator of the Science and Innovation Center, led the event alongside Annaliza Pagaling, learning area coordinator for Science, and Nelwyn Tejada, learning area coordinator for Research. “We realized the importance of building a network with key partners and preparing our students for real-world problems through initiatives that offer better solutions,” Bisaya said.
Grounding Innovation in Local Needs
The event featured a lineup of academic and industry experts who urged students to align their research projects with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the specific needs of Baguio City. Richel Lamadrid, PhD, Director of the SLU Research, Innovation, and Sustainable Extension(RISE) Center, delivered a keynote on empowering Louisian innovators. She encouraged students not to develop research projects in a vacuum. Instead, Lamadrid emphasized that aligning student work with the Baguio City Research Agenda can foster early civic responsibility. She also highlighted the importance of integrating the city’s Voluntary Local Review and the local Pansa-nopen Tayo Circular Economy framework into student research.
Building on the city’s strategic goals, Mica Rimando, senior economist and lead technical focal person for innovation and the SDGs at the City Planning, Development, and Sustainability Office, discussed Baguio’s vision of becoming a livable, inclusive, and creative city. Rimando introduced the students to Synergize Innovation and Gravitate Leadership (SIGLAT) towards Adaptive Technologies. The Baguio youth innovation hub provides young people with a space to develop solutions for urban safety challenges. The SIGLAT initiative is supported by the Safe and Sound Cities (S2Cities) program, the Global Infrastructure Basel Foundation (GIB), and the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation.
Practical Applications and Circular Economy
To provide practical approaches for the students, the seminar also focused on environmental sustainability and technology-based prototyping.
Annaliza Pagaling, co-organizer and author of the Pansa-nopen Tayo Circular Economy Resource Book, detailed the principles of a circular economy. She challenged students to move beyond traditional waste management by adopting a five-step pathway: refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, and recycle. Sean Empizo, CEO and founder of the innovation startup Empitech, guided the Grade 12 learners through a practical design thinking process. Empizo showed the students how to identify real-world problems worth solving and use technologies such as Arduino-based systems in developing prototypes. He urged them to create practical solutions and apply what they had learned to projects under SLU’s Project RISE.
Building Future Partnerships
By bringing together university leaders, city planning officials, and technology entrepreneurs, the seminar helped lay the groundwork for a more integrated approach to high school research at SLU.
Organizers hope the seminar will serve as a catalyst for student projects that directly address the needs of Baguio City and contribute to its sustainable development initiatives. “I am looking forward to continued partnership and support, a strong follow through, and a meaningful output,” Bisaya concluded.
The seminar’s real impact will become evident in the coming months, as students transform its lessons into research proposals and prototypes designed around Baguio City’s needs. Such initiatives are in line with UN SDGs 4 (Quality Education) and 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, as well as the CICM Advocacy of Integrity of Creation. (Article by Charm Penalba, BEds LHS Science Department and Nelwyn Tejada, BEds LHS Research Department | Photos by BEdS LHS)
