Students from UC College of Engineering and Architecture (CEA) clinched 𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞: 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐄𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬 held on December 11, 2024, in Baguio City.

The winning team, composed of 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐲 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐚, 𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐚 𝐄𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐫𝐞, 𝐋𝐨𝐮𝐰𝐞𝐧 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐄𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐲, and 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐲𝐥 𝐉𝐁 𝐆𝐨𝐧𝐳𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬, under the guidance of their adviser, Engr. Maria Victoria Castillo, impressed the judges with their project proposal, 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐏𝐢𝐞𝐳𝐨 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬: 𝐀 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞.

The team’s innovative proposal is a system innovatively converts footsteps into energy while incorporating a gamified reward feature that allows users to earn points with every step, encouraging physical activity and promoting sustainable practices in urban spaces.

The competition saw 67 teams from eight schools and universities in Baguio City.