Advisories & News
Press Release
PHILIPPINE CONSULATE GENERAL TORONTO PARTICIPATES AT PUEBLO SCIENCE’S “HACKATHON FOR SCIENCE EDUCATION”
2020-10-03
PR 55-2020
29 September 2020, Toronto, Ontario – The Philippine Consulate General in Toronto participated at the second annual “Hackathon for Science Education” on 27 September 2020, organized by Pueblo Science. The Hackathon was held for two (2) weekends, 19-20 and 26-27 September 2020, bringing together one hundred (100) innovative university students with professionals as mentors, scientists, engineers, and educators, to create hands-on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) projects and activities that will be used for Pueblo Science’s sustainability-themed camps and training programs in the Philippines in 2021.
According to Pueblo Science, the event’s objective is to provide a fun and engaging opportunity for professionals and students to become leaders, builders, and innovators, as well as to make an impact on education around the world. The prototype kits developed during the hackathon will enable teachers in the Philippines to introduce hands-on science and engineering experiences into their classrooms and improve their students’ attitudes towards STEM learning, concept uptake and problem solving. The specific challenge for the participating groups of 3-5 students is to create STEM activities that address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) to teach aspects of science and engineering covered in the high school curriculum in the Philippines. The activity kits developed must also be made-up of low-cost materials easily available in the Philippines.
The Philippine Consulate General in Toronto attended the last weekend where participating groups presented their final pitches before a panel of judges who were experts in the field. There were four (4) Pitch Judges namely, Dr. Alice Herrera, Ms. Ruby Sullan, Ms. Isi Caulder, and Ms. Lisa Cole. Dr. Herrera is a Sustainable Energy Management professional with over thirty (30) years of experience in sustainable energy and conservation demand management and is the President of the Energy Efficiency Practitioners Association of the Philippines, Inc. Ms. Sullan is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto in the Departments of Physical & Environmental Sciences and Chemistry. Ms. Caulder is a partner, lawyer and patent agent with Bereskin & Parr in Toronto and a co-leader of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) practice group, and the leader of the Cleantech practice group. Lastly, Ms. Cole is the Director of Programming of the K21 Academy of the Lassonde School of Engineering at York University, a system leader in STEM Education, and committed to public education.
Consul General Orontes V. Castro, in his message at the Closing Ceremony of the Hackathon, congratulated, thanked, and conveyed his best wishes to the organizers and participating students of the event, especially Dr. Mayrose Salvador, for working hard for the Philippines and its people. He also said that the event is a welcome activity for the young scientists during this trying times brought about by the pandemic and refreshed and revitalized their minds. He also expressed the hope that the output in the event can be used in reaching out to young students in countries like the Philippines.
Dr. Mayrose Salvador, Executive Director of Pueblo Science, also congratulated the group that participated saying, “all efforts will be appreciated by the teachers and students where Pueblo Science currently have programs, the Philippines, Guyana, Jamaica, and Canada. Your projects will help deliver Pueblo Science’s mission to reduce poverty by advancing education and enabling innovation in low-resource communities. Hopefully by 2022, when the pandemic is over, we will be able to resume our in-person programs, training teachers in remote countries around the world.” She also thanked the organizing team led by Pueblo Science volunteer Ms. Anji Zhang, all the super mentors, mentors, judges, and sponsors.
Dr. Calvin Cheng, President of Pueblo Science and CTO and Co-founder of Edgehog Advance Technology, congratulated and announced the winners. The two (2) top winners were the projects on: (1) Quake No More, and (2) Keep the Sea Plastic-Free. The runner-up project is entitled “Asymptomatic Disease Transmission Demo via Acid-base Chemistry”.
Right photo, clockwise from top left: Anji Zhang (Chemistry student at the University of Toronto who volunteers with Pueblo Science), Dr. Alice Herrera, Ms. Ruby Sullan, Dr. Cynthia Goh, Mr. Leo Mui, Ms. Isi Caulder, and Ms. Lisa Cole.
“Quake No More”
