MAKATI, Philippines – Three outstanding students from the Asian Institute of Management’s (AIM) Master in Innovation and Business (MIB) program won the Philippine Finals of the Schneider Electric Go Green 2023 competition held on 08 August 2023 at the Schneider Electric Philippines’ office in World Plaza, BGC.
Using the moniker Team Yumari, Angelica Limpe Candano-Salamat, Rochelle Chua Dichaves, and Frances Camille Ramos Parado from MIB 2024 won against student teams from top universities such as the University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, and the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. Team Yumari will represent the Philippines in the regional leg of the competition versus teams from various East Asian and Asia-Pacific countries such as Japan, South Korea, Brunei, East Timor, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, and Myanmar.
According to Candano-Salamat, their winning project, called MoveMent, “is an ecosystem designed to create awareness among hotel guests and patrons of their personal impact on climate action.” Conceived as an innovative amalgamation of art and technology, MoveMent is a complementary product to Schneider Electric’s own EcoStruxure™ technology, a building management system that allows managers to monitor, control, and maximize a building’s sustainability features. “MoveMent harnesses the same data through interactive and immersive art installations for the general public to create tangible, accessible, and inspiring nudges to move people to step towards sustainability,” explains Candano-Salamat. “Imagine a majestic tree sculpture in the middle of a hotel lobby with lush leaves magically unfurling with each step you take. Now, imagine finding a seat at the foot of the tree where you can charge your mobile device with energy generated from your own footsteps. This is what MoveMent is all about.”
Citing the team’s inspiration, Candano-Salamat shares that she has “an itch to solve the world’s biggest, scariest, and most complex problems by harnessing technology as a force for good.” Meanwhile, Dichaves divulges that “The Schneider Go Green Challenge was a way for me to be able to apply all the knowledge I accumulated throughout my career and formal schooling at the Asian Institute of Management towards a practical real-life challenge,” and that “as someone who is generally quite shy, participating in the challenge was a good way for me to interact with other people more.” Parado describes her burning passion “for sustainable design solutions that can have a meaningful impact on our environment.”
Guided by their AIM Faculty Advisor, Team Yumari shared what made their team so effective at developing the winning solution. “We’re drilled to continuously focus on people and their problems, test and learn through agile iterations, and always be ready to pivot when needed. Our AIM faculty advisor and program alum, Professor Maki Mitsuhashi, advised us to have an open mind and to zero in on the problem statement that was released during the hackathon day itself.” Candano-Salamat explains.
AIM is proud of Team Yumari and their accomplishments. The Institute will continue to support these three innovative minds in their endeavor to take first place at the competition’s East Asian and Japan regional finals.
