Nationwide search for digital innovations bares entries

All roads lead to the grand finals as Smart Communications Inc. (Smart) recently announced the most #FutureReady digital innovations that will vie for the top honors at the 15th SWEEP Innovation and Excellence Awards.

Representatives from the wireless services provider and its parent company PLDT, as well as partners from IdeaSpace and Huawei Philippines judged over a hundred entries submitted by colleges and universities nationwide. These were Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G solutions under Social Innovations, Consumer, Business-to-Business, and Machine-to-Machine categories.

With the theme “#FutureReady: Creative Innovations Beyond Imagination,” the Top 20 entries included bids from Luzon schools such as Asia Pacific College, Batangas State University, Bicol University Polangui Campus, Camarines Sur Polythechnic Colleges, Malayan Colleges Laguna, Mapua University, Polytechnic University of the Philippines-Sto. Tomas Branch, Technological University of the Philippines, National Teachers College, and University of the Cordilleras.

Shortlisted entries from VisMin were from University of Cebu-Banilad, University of San Carlos, University of San Jose-Recoletos, Holy Cross of Davao College, University of Southern Philippines, and University of the Immaculate Conception.

The revolutionary ideas of the Top 20 finalists will be de- veloped into full blown applications at a SWEEP boot camp to be held in Metro Manila this March. Final judging and awarding of total cash prizes amounting to over one million pesos will be held in May.

Launched in 2004, the SWEEP Awards is an annual competition that encourages innovation and excellence in wireless applications development among students of tertiary schools.

Short for Smart Wireless Engineering Education Program, SWEEP is an industryacademe linkage program with a network of more than 40 colleges and universities all over the country that offer ECE and IT courses. For 15 years, Smart has partnered with these schools to help them produce industry-ready graduates or technopreneurs by leveraging on its network, infrastructure and technologies.

For more information on SWEEP, visit www.facebook.com/ sweepschools or www.facebook. com/smartcommunities.