The University of St. La Salle-Bacolod was hailed as the Grand Champion of the 1st ever My Own Version of Excellence: A Concentrix Change Challenge last November 15, 2021. The competition aims to showcase the innovation capabilities of the next generation in becoming catalysts for change.
Team USLS is composed of three BS Entrepreneurship students, Gian Carlo Aguirre, Aecymlyn Bete, Stephanie Anne Nietes, and three Lasallian faculty, Jobert Chong, Kevin Julius Lopez, and Kathlyn Tiu from the Yu An Log -College of Business and Accountancy. The team bested 26 participating private and public schools from all over the Philippines. All entries were judged based on innovation impact, uniqueness of idea, feasibility, judges Q&A, and its overall innovativeness.
In spite of difficult collaboration conditions created by ongoing pandemic restrictions, the team showed insurmountable dedication towards creating sustainable solutions with a social purpose.
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During the grand finals, which was broadcasted thru zoom with almost 800 participants from around the world, the top three finalist were given 15 minutes to pitch their innovation idea.
Team from La Salle Bacolod wowed the judges with their groundbreaking innovation which they call PROSTEXTIC. They envisioned an empowered community that empowers inclusivity, solving environmental issues and giving opportunities to powerless communities. The project involves the production of prosthetics from textile and plastic wastes which make it cost-efficient and sustainable. The innovation will significantly reduce the cost of prosthetics from P200,000 to only P100,000 or less and delivery time from six months to only one month. This will make prosthetics more affordable and accessible to poor amputees.
Aside from the coveted title, team USLS will receive P100,000 cash prize, trophy, medals, and media millage. Iloilo City National High School (ICNHS) Senior High STEM Students won First Runner-Up with students from De La Salle University-Manila, University of Science & Technology of Southern Philippines, and Mandaluyong City Science High School completing the five finalists.
First established in the Philippines in 2007, Concentrix is a leading global provider of customer experience (CX) solutions and technology and the largest private employer in the country.