Two weeks ago, I wrote about the mission of four University of St. La Salle BS Biology students in a Visayas-wide regional technology pitching competition.
Mission accomplished!
It was their passion that drove them to excel. This was how mentor Dr. Joval Martinez described their successful endeavor as they topped the Visayas-wide Leave a Nest Philippines Regional Technology Planters competition held in Iloilo City on Aug. 9. The sponsoring organization, which is based in Japan, “is dedicated to advancing science and technology for global happiness.”
The remarkable passion of the science-inclined quartet – that calls itself “The Four Phosphateers” – led to a committed pursuit of their work until the final pitching competition at the Iloilo Convention Center, where the team, led by Charles Gan, explained their presentation clearly and concisely, Dr. Martinez recalled.
“I have witnessed their passion in what they were doing, their pitch was clear to the audience and their work is different from the others,” he said. Despite their being young and inexperienced, the mentor said, they knew what they wanted to do and their direction was clear to them – that it can impact the agricultural ecosystem, which is also the main goal of the sponsoring organization.
Charles and his teammates pitched their work, “Harnessing Hot Spring-Derived Thermophilic Bacteria as Phosphate Solubilizes for Enhanced Bio Fertilizer Development.”
The Four Phosphateers presented their study before an elite panel of judges – executives from government and non-government, science, technology, industry and business agencies and institutions – with eight other teams representing universities and start-up groups.
Dr. Joval added: “The judges thought that the pitch was very clear and that The Four Phosphateers’ team has a very good grasp of their vision and goals.”
The Lasallians’ study, according to a Leave a Nest Philippines social media platform, “aims to solve the issue of inefficiency of phosphorus utilization in agriculture resulting in excessive chemical fertilizer use and environment degradation by isolating hot spring-derived thermophilic bacteria as phosphate-solubilizing bacteria for the development of thermophilic PSB biofertilizers.”
Charles’ teammates are fellow BS Bio seniors Jed Emmanuel Reysoma, Jules Vern Garcia and Rein Juan Diego Nillos.
As grand winner, the Four Phosphateers won P30,000.
Two other groups – PakUan of Antique and ADITech of Samar – were presented the Delightex Award and Focus Systems Award, respectively, with each finalist receiving P20,000.
The Leave a Nest Award was given to CirPro Innovations of UP Visayas which earned an invitation to participate in the Hyper Interdisciplinary Conference scheduled at Ateneo de Manila University in November.
The conference will bring together thought leaders, innovators and scholars from various fields for a global dialogue to address various complex challenges.
The PakUan study, the Leave a Nest digital platform said, “aims to utilize watermelon waste as a preservative for food products due to the absence of natural preservatives in the market from food wastes and losses.
The ADITech study, on the other hand, addressed widespread problems of soil salinity in farms by using sensors to measure it, assess soil health and provide personalized crop recommendations, thereby optimizing yields and promoting sustainability.
Other entries in the regional competition included groups and teams from Cebu, Bohol as well as West Visayas State University and Iloilo Science and Technology University.
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The pitching competition was described by Leave a Nest Co., Ltd. as a gathering of “the (Visayan) region’s brightest minds and their groundbreaking innovations,” that has carved a lasting impression among members of the startup community and attendees.
Leave a Nest acknowledged its various event partners, which include Delightex Pte. Ltd. (Singapore), Alternõ Pte. Ltd. (Vietnam), Focus Systems Corporation, FiberCraze Co., Ltd., and Galdieria Co., Ltd., which are all-based in Japan;
The Regions 6 and 7 offices of the Department of Science and Technology Region, Local Economic Development and Investment Promotion Office of Iloilo, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry – Iloilo;
Iloilo Science and Technology University, the co-organizer of the event; official media partner, e27, and strategic partners Book Latte and Zen Labs.
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The passion Dr. Martinez was describing was echoed by team leader Charles, who said they’d be back in the laboratory to conduct experiments soon.
The tests they will conduct “include finding out how much of the bacteria we need to add to the soil to see the maximum change along with how big those changes in phosphate concentrations are,” Charles said, adding, they also want to know how well do the bacteria survive in the soil.
Likewise, we want to determine what kinds of phosphates they like to grow in and solubilize, he further said.
At the same time, he explained that they will be testing on soil so that the data they gather will hopefully move towards the direction of the development of biofertilizers.
Charles expressed that the funds they will receive for their study promise to be a big help as he pointed out that “our journey is just starting… in a year, we will be back with the results and we expect to learn a lot from it then.”
Doc Joval said the funding will depend on the collaboration that will be established with other partners of Leave a Nest.
Best wishes to the team. You and your mentor have brought great pride to your university, family and supporters.
Pursue innovations for the common good, guys.
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Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you. (1 Timothy 4:14) | NWI
