PH to choose representatives to int’l contest

FOUR student groups from top Philippine universities will compete for the chance to represent the country in the third Indra Future Minds Competition. The finals will be held in April in Brazil.

Vying for the honor are teams from the University of the Philippines–Diliman (UPD), Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) and De La Salle University (DLSU).

This year, the Philippines will send two teams. A local inter-university competition will select the teams that will compete against universities from around the world.

Winners of the competition will have the chance to work in any of Indra’s international offices after graduation.

Last year, the first time the country participated in Indra, the UPD team of Maria Katrina E. Volante, Benedict Ivan A. Andrade and Erwin L. Soleta topped the competition.

Indra Future Minds Competition is an international university contest that allows undergraduates to demonstrate their talents and skills in managing solutions for problems in real projects developed by Indra, Spain’s leading information technology company.

It aims to engage the best talents around the world to innovate and change the world with the help of new technologies.

UPD is sending two teams to the local competition. The first team consists of Angelica Joyce Ramos and Ian Catamora, both Bachelor of Science in Electronics and Communications Engineering (BSECE) students, and Shane Jayson Cruz, a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering (BSIE) student.

Composing the second UPD team are John Arden Orata and Jhoanne Clarize Monta, both taking up BSECE, and Paolo Martin Santos, a Bachelor of Science in Materials Engineering student.

The ADMU team members are Robert Alfie Peña and Joshua Mendoza, both BSECE students, and Brian Lao, Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering student.

Composing the DLSU team are Jerome Cuevas and John Clifford Konwat, both taking up BSECE, and Catherine Denise Rollan, a BSIE student.

In the local competition, teams will have to present a solution to an “enigma” (challenge or problem) based on Indra’s traffic management system.

Two teams will be chosen based on how their solutions adhere to Indra’s four core values: Rigor, determination, originality and sensitivity.

The Philippines will be competing against teams from Peru, Panama, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Spain, Portugal, Czech Republic, Italy and Turkey.

Only four teams will advance to the finals.