BREAKING

Thursday, April 13, 2023

Young Filipino girls take the spotlight on the stage of robotics

Wazzup Pilipinas!?



Female Junior high school students prove that they are ready to break the long-standing gender biases of society and proudly wave the banner of women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics as they join the newly-launched Tagisang Robotics Competition 3.0: Girls & Gears – the first and only all-female robotics competition in the country, courtesy of the Department of Science and Technology - Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI).

Aiming to bridge the wide gender gap in robotics education and address issues of underrepresentation of women in STEM, the DOST-SEI recently launched the TRC 3.0: Girls and Gears, which is a reboot of one of its successful and decade-long running programs – the Tagisang Robotics Competition: Design, Build, and Play.

DOST-SEI Director Dr. Josette T. Biyo officially announced the launch last March 27, 2023 during the opening ceremony of the TRC 3.0: Girls & Gears’ Mobot Interfacing Using the Arduino Microcontroller, a five-day technical training and workshop meant to prepare the female students for the Competition Stage.

In her video message, Dr. Biyo praised the young girls for their burning passion to learn and take part in the field of robotics and promised to continue strengthening initiatives that aim to create a more diverse and more inclusive robotics community.

Dr. Biyo also expressed delight to celebrate the National Women’s Month along with the start of the new TRC. She challenged the female participants to make the most out of their learnings throughout the competition and use the new knowledge they will gain to improve the state of Science and Technology in the country.

In its maiden year, the TRC 3.0 features groups of four female students, together with their coaches, from twenty (20) science and technology-oriented junior high schools battling out to win a trophy and a Php 100,000.00 cash grant.

Here are the 20-participating school-teams who are part of the competition’s pioneering batch: Caloocan National Science and Technology High School
Las Piñas National High School
Makati Science High School
Malabon National High School
Manila Science High School
Marcelo H. Del Pilar National High School
Marikina Science High School
Muntinlupa Science High School
Parañaque Science High School
Pasay City West High School
Pasig City Science High School
Pitogo High School
Quezon City High School
Rizal High School
Rizal National Science High School
San Francisco High School
San Juan City Science High School
Sen. Renato “Compañero” Cayetano Memorial Science and Technology High School
Taguig City Science High School
Valenzuela School of Mathematics and Science

The school-teams underwent the five-day technical training and workshop from March 27 to 31, 2023 at the Sequoia Hotel - Manila Bay, which focused on learning the basics about robotic technologies such as the microcontroller basics, electronics, sensors, and automation processes.

The training sessions were facilitated by lecturers from ThinkLab, namely, Engr. Elgie Cabarubias, Ms. Kate Justin Flores, Mr. John Paul Caballeda, Ms. Veena Barnachea, Engr. Mark Jayson de Jesus, and Engr. Josiah Sicad. Teaching young girls everything they need to know about the Arduino and Electronics, ThinkLab helped the female students program their mobots to perform specific tasks.


Caption: Engr. Elgie Cabarubias of ThinkLab gives students a review about the basics of Arduino and Electronics – great foundation lessons to boost their skills, knowledge, and understanding of robotics and engineering.



Caption: Girls of the TRC 3.0 apply their learnings as they make the LED lights go brighter after being taught about the Arduino Analog Input and Output and advance Arduino lessons including Two-Dimensional Arrays and LED Matrix.


 
Caption: A junior high school female student gets excited as she unboxed their school-team's mobot.

In celebration of the National Women’s Month, the students were also given the opportunity to unleash their girl power and join the “60-Minute GEWE for Girls”, a workshop on Gender Equality and Women Empowerment led by an independent Gender and Development consultant Ms. Marita Pimentel.

The five-day technical training and workshop concluded with a brief closing ceremony. During the program, Engr. Carlos Matti Opus, chair of the Board of Judges, explained the mechanics, schedules, and prizes of the game.

The closing ceremony also included a discussion of the DOST-SEI's study “Women in Science Fact Sheet No. 4” - the 2021 publication which paved the way and solidified the need to push for an all-female robotics competition. Ms. Bern Irish Arguelles, a former scholar and currently a statistician of DOST-SEI, led the discussion where she provided an overview of the status of women in the S&T workforce, revealing their low representation in the fields of engineering, architecture, and other related fields.



Caption: Ms. Bern Irish Arguelles of the DOST-SEI motivates the girls of TRC 3.0 as she presents findings of DOST-SEI's 2021 publication “Women in Science”.

Ms. Shumate Royo, a tech community enabler and former managing director of DEVCON, concluded the event by inspiring young girls to hold hands in aiming to close the gender divides in Science and Technology. Her words which focused on expressing women’s involvement in various scientific pursuits sought to give the girls the confidence to continue waving the banner of women, not just in the field of robotics, but in all aspects of life.

Ms. Royo ended her message by challenging the girls to become the STEM role models they ought to be and to not forget to pay it forward.



Caption: Ms. Shumate Royo bolsters the girls’ courage to venture in the fields of STEM as she delivers an inspirational message during the technical training and workshop’s closing ceremonies.

TRC 3.0: Girls and Gears follows the same phase format as the previous TRCs. After the five-day technical training and workshop, a series of practice games will commence to further test the teams’ skills in robotics.

The in-person practice round, along with the final game, is set to take place in July this year. 

EXTENDED CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: UP Cinema sets extended deadline of entries for Kino Punch 7


Wazzup Pilipinas!?




UP Cinema’s seventh installment of their official film magazine “KINO PUNCH: KP7ARAN” with the theme of Divination and Future Reading extends their ongoing call for submissions, moving the deadline from April 10, 2023 to April 26, 2023.

With this, the film organization continues its search for film reviews, essays, poetry, artworks, photographs, and photo essays (English and Filipino works are accepted), revolving around the foreseeable future of cinema, with respect to the issue’s theme. In observance of the extended deadline, all entries submitted on or before April 26, 2023 will still be accepted and considered for inclusion in the film magazine.

The call for contributions remains open to ALL Filipino film enthusiasts, literary writers and artists who seek to share their original or collaborative works.

Submission guidelines may be found through this link: https://bit.ly/KP7Guidelines

An in-person issue launch is expected to happen by July 2023. This edition of Kino Punch will be available both digitally and in print this year (2023) through the guidance of its Editorial Board, consisting of Mae Malaya (Editor-in-Chief), Abigael Manalili (Managing Editor), Rian Piamonte (Managing Editor), Ivan Gentolizo (Associate Editor), FJ Calvario (Copy Editor), Althea Ann Laylo (Creative Director), Mikayla Manganti (Creative Director), Ymarc Manzano (Marketing and Publicity Editor), Allen Prodigalidad (Marketing and Publicity Editor), and Max Guanzon (Layout Editor).

For more information on the publication, visit the official Kino Punch social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

ArenaPlus ties up with PBA, Scottie Thompson is first athlete endorser


Wazzup Pilipinas!?





Watching professional basketball games just got more fun. Fans can get more actively and deeply involved in the action now that ArenaPlus has signed a sponsorship deal with the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

ArenaPlus, the newest online entertainment offering of Total Gamezone Xtreme Incorporated (TGXI), is now the Official Sports Entertainment Gateway of the PBA.

With the sponsorship, the PBA’s first-ever official sports entertainment gateway partner and Asia’s first-ever professional basketball league aim to level up PBA fans’ entertainment experience with more fun, thrill and excitement.

Multiple-year sponsor ArenaPlus will have brand presence in playing venues of regular PBA 5x5 games, PBA3x3 games and special events like the PBA Draft, All-Star Week, Media Day and the PBA On Tour, among others. It will also be on the league’s social media accounts and digital platforms.




Popular Brgy. Ginebra San Miguel shooting guard Scottie Thompson was announced as the first ArenaPlus athlete endorser. The PBA’s Best Player of the 2021 PBA Governor’s Cup Conference, Mythical Team Member and one-time Most Valuable Player who was also Second Best Player in the 2022-23 PBA Commissioners’ Cup on January 2023, was selected by the brand because of his exciting brand of play and huge impact on the fans.

The signing ceremony was held in early April at the PBA Office in Quezon City and was attended by PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial, PBA Marketing Director Jo Francisco, DigiPlus President Andy Tsui and TGXI President Jasper Vicencio. Vicencio said they are super excited to show the PBA and Filipino fans what ArenaPlus is all about and how much fun it can bring to the viewing experience. “The brand will surely add hype and level up the fun and entertainment of the PBA,” Vicencio said.

DigiPlus President Andy Tsui thanked the PBA for allowing DigiPlus to introduce its new brand. “Your support is indeed a part of our success and we will continue to support this source of great entertainment for Filipinos,” he said.



ArenaPlus is an affiliate of BingoPlus and a subsidiary of DigiPlus Interactive Corporation. The ArenaPlus App can be downloaded in Google Play and the App Store.
Ang Pambansang Blog ng Pilipinas Wazzup Pilipinas and the Umalohokans. Ang Pambansang Blog ng Pilipinas celebrating 10th year of online presence
 
Copyright © 2013 Wazzup Pilipinas News and Events
Design by FBTemplates | BTT