Grab PH Opens Doors for Future Business, STEM, Sustainability Leaders

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The leading superapp is now accepting new GrabScholar applications

Grab Philippines Country Head Ronald Roda [center] spearheads the

 official launch of GrabScholar Batch 3

Grab Philippines, together with partner and co-facilitator Bagosphere, is once again ready to welcome a fresh batch of applications for its GrabScholar program. This new cohort will mark the third generation of Filipino GrabScholars since the program's official launch in the country last 2023.

GrabScholar is a three-pronged program that covers full-time college scholarships, bursary support for educational needs, and a career acceleration pathway for aspiring Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) professionals.

The latest iteration of GrabScholar covers full-ride merit-based college scholarships specifically for three- and four-year degrees in Business, Sustainability, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)[1] at any college or university in the Philippines. It also extends bursary support from Kindergarten through Grade 12.

With these updates, the leading superapp intends to create professional pathways for the next generation of leaders in the abovementioned fields. Grab is geared to provide more meaningful support to its college scholars by connecting them to training, mentorship, internship, and potential employment opportunities within the company.

GrabScholar is part of Grab’s broader GrabForGood initiative, aimed at creating opportunities for social progress and growth for more Filipinos, and Southeast Asia at large.

Grab Philippines Country Head Ronald Roda shares, “I am fortunate to have had the privilege of accessing education through scholarships. As the son of educators and a scholar from elementary to graduate school, I deeply understand the transformative power of educational opportunities. Through the GrabScholar Program, we will empower more of our young and hardworking Filipino students with access to quality education. We hope that this program will widen their path towards achieving their dreams.”

In this batch, Grab will be awarding full-ride merit-based scholarships to six freshmen college students and providing School Expenses Aid worth PHP 2,500 to 300 K-12 students. The leading superapp is also co-funding scholarships for a fellowship program for 150 aspiring BPO professionals.

Among the scholars from the program’s second batch is Sophia Sy, a college GrabScholar taking up BS Medical Technology at PHINMA-St. Jude College Manila and the niece of GrabCar driver-partner Mary Sy. Sophia shares, "There are many Filipino students like me who are determined to achieve our aspirations. However, despite their passion and hard work, many lack access to essential opportunities to pursue academic goals. GrabScholar has bridged this gap for me, and I express my gratitude through my hard work and commitment to excellence as I finish my Bachelor’s Degree – a step closer to my dream of becoming a medical doctor."

"Sophia’s story is a testament to how Grab’s positive impact on its driver community goes beyond just providing livelihood. It extends to transforming the lives of their loved ones for the better," Roda adds. Sophia joins the community of Filipino GrabScholars, which is now composed of 12 full-ride college scholars, over 600 bursary awardees, and 300 BPO Skills training graduates.

Interested applicants for the third batch of GrabScholar can visit this link for more information.

 

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^[1] Except medical courses

Samsung launches Solve for Tomorrow 2024, invites STEM students to share innovative ideas to solve local and sustainability issues

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Samsung Philippines’ Solve for Tomorrow is back for another innovation-packed season and is calling for Filipino students to showcase their tech solutions to reimagine the future.

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Now on its 2nd year in the PH, Public Science High School Students can win 

PHP 2 Million worth of cash prizes and Samsung devices by sharing 

tech solutions to help communities

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With the support of the Department of Education (DepEd) and Philippine Science High School System (PSHS), Samsung Electronics Philippines Corporation continues their commitment to shaping the country’s next-gen heroes through the initiative by once again inviting public science high school students nationwide currently in grades 8 to 10 to showcase their best innovative ideas through the Solve for Tomorrow 2024 competition where they can get a chance to win PHP 2 Million worth of cash prizes and Samsung devices for their school, teams, and teacher adviser.

How to Join Solve for Tomorrow

Solve for Tomorrow 2024 is open to Grades 8-10 students of government-managed Science High Schools. They should form a team with a maximum of four (4) students each, and choose one faculty adviser from their respective schools. Each faculty adviser can coach up to three (3) teams.

Teams formed should identify a local community or environmental sustainability problem they want to solve with technology and AI and come up with a design proposal presented via a slides presentation (5 slides max with 2,500 words only) or word document (7 pages with Arial 11 font size). Once entry is finalized, they should submit the file via the Solve for Tomorrow registration form at https://www.samsung.com/ph/solve-for-tomorrow-2024/. Deadline for entries is on October 25, 2024.

Entries will be evaluated based on design innovation, relevance to the community, feasibility, STEM integration, sustainability, and clarity of proposal.

The entries will be judged by a panel of industry experts who will select the top 10 finalists to be announced on November 13, 2024. Finalists receive expert mentoring to improve their solutions and present their final proposals to the distinguished board of judges on December 3, 2024 to determine the top 3 winners.

The Grand Prize winner will take home PHP 500,000 worth of Samsung devices for the school, PHP100,000 cash prize for the team members, PHP20,000 cash prize for the teacher, and Samsung phone and tablets for team members and their teacher.

Meanwhile, the Second Prize winner will take home PHP 320,000 worth of Samsung devices for the school, PHP 70,000 cash prize for the team members, PHP 15,000 cash prize for the teacher, and Samsung phones and tablets for team members and their teacher.

Finally, the Third Prize winner will receive PHP 175,000 worth of Samsung devices for the school, PHP 50,000 cash prize for the team members, PHP 10,000 cash prize for the teacher, and Samsung phones and tablets for team members and their teacher.

The rest of the top 10 finalists will receive PHP 15,000 for their team and PHP 5,000 for their teacher.

For more information on Solve for Tomorrow and complete contest details, visit https://www.samsung.com/ph/solve-for-tomorrow-2024/.

Empowering the Next-gen Heroes

Solve for Tomorrow is a program under Samsung’s global corporate social responsibility vision of ‘Together for Tomorrow! Enabling People’ which aims to empower and support the next generation of innovators to achieve their full potential and pioneer positive social changes. Through this initiative, Samsung provides opportunities for up and coming STEM leaders to craft ideas and drive positive change in their communities through tech, encouraging them to approach problems in new ways to find innovative solutions.

Since its global launch in 2010, Solve for Tomorrow has successfully provided an avenue to top students, helped over 2 million people, and reached 50 other countries. The program was first launched in the Philippines in 2023 where science high school students across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao shared sustainability solutions for their community.

In 2023, Solve for Tomorrow received over 200 entries with the first-ever Grand Prize winner, Team Intelllimeter, creating a proposal that aims to improve energy efficiency through their smart electric management system. Meanwhile, second prize winner Project O.A.S.I.S, proposed a filtration system to remove oil and microplastics from the ocean while third placer TomPost focused on waste management for the agricultural sector by repurposing tomatoes and other agricultural waste into compost and other products.

Samsung is committed to expand its sustainability and educational programs in the Philippines with Solve for Tomorrow that is now in its 2nd year in the Philippines, “At Samsung, we are committed to empowering communities – now, and for the future. Solve for Tomorrow is a testament to this, which manifests our global CSR vision of ‘Together for Tomorrow! Enabling People.’” SEPCO President, Chu Min Su shared.

“It is our goal to always find opportunities to support providing education for future generations, and we want to empower future innovators to achieve their full potential.”

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Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow invites STEM students to propose tech solutions for social impact

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Launched for the first time in the Philippines, Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow aims to unleash the creativity and potential of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) students in discovering social solutions with the use of technology. In partnership with the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Solve for Tomorrow aims to provide opportunities for top students to transform emerging ideas into action and unlock their full potential as future leaders. This global program has successfully helped over 2 million people and has reached beyond the boundaries of 50 other countries, including the Philippines, as the latest addition this 2023.

Samsung is inviting public science high school students from Grades 8 to 10 to showcase their groundbreaking ideas that can positively impact communities and create a better tomorrow. Participating schools can form teams with a maximum of four (4) students and one (1) faculty advisor for every entry. There will be no limit to how many teams can join per school.

The team should identify a local community or an environmental sustainability problem and provide a design proposal outlining sustainable and feasible solutions with the help of technology. The proposal can be in a slide presentation format (5 slides maximum) or a Word document (2,500 words maximum). After completing the proposal, teams must submit their entry via the Solve for Tomorrow registration site before or on November 3, 2023.

Ten shortlisted teams will have a chance to be coached by Samsung experts, and present their proposals to an esteemed board of judges. The Grand Prize winner will receive Samsung devices worth up to ₱650,000 for their school, ₱190,000 worth of Samsung devices for the team and their teacher adviser, ₱100,000 cash prize for team members, and P 20,000 cash prize for faculty adviser. Full mechanics and prizes can be found on the official website.

Here are just some of the solutions developed by winners of Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow from around the world.

Looking for a study buddy? TAZ’s App got your back

Indeed, wherever young innovators triumph, each convenes to develop solutions for a better tomorrow.  TAZ, the winning team from Malaysia in 2021, from St. Francis Institution, Malacca, developed an app that helps Malaysian students around the country to connect with study buddies who share similar interests and help them acquire access to a variety of learning materials nationwide and equip their peers with time management tips.

PathFinder System:  Key to safer spaces in schools

A gunshot detection and evacuation system was one of the 2022 Solve for Tomorrow’s grand prize winners in the United States. Designed by students from Porter High School, Texas, the PathFinder system addresses crowd stampedes caused by a threat of an active shooter. It aims to ensure students' safety inside their school and ease the fear of school shootings. It essentially eradicates false alarms and its LED lights change color to indicate the proximity of danger while pointing out the safest way out. It was one of the smartest prototypes proposed in the competition, as it is highly functional and sustainable.

Support athletes during competitions with the Human Health Band

With an innovation that aimed to assist athletes on their road to victory, Strawberry Crest High School from Dover, Florida, was awarded one of the four grand-winners for Solve for Tomorrow 2023. With a Human Health Band designed to monitor an athlete’s body temperature and prevent heat-related deaths,  the team conducted thorough research on making this project feasible and sustainable to save lives using recycled fabrics and developed software.

Join Samsung in its mission to help build a better future and be part of the country’s very first Solve for Tomorrow competition. The deadline for submission is November 03, 2023. Interested applicants can learn more and submit their entries at the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow site: https://www.samsung.com/ph/solve-for-tomorrow/

 

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KodeGo bridges STEM gender-employment gap, opens new opportunities for women in tech

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KodeGo, the innovative online tech boot camp by Globe's 917Ventures, is charting a new course for women in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields by providing opportunities that aim to address gender disparity in local employment.

The Philippines currently exhibits a 22% gender-based disparity in the STEM workforce, the largest in Southeast Asia, according to a study by professional networking platform LinkedIn. Although women make up 58.8% of employees in non-STEM fields, this figure dramatically falls to a mere 36.3% within the STEM sectors.

KodeGo's mission to democratize education for all is proving to be instrumental in this context, equalizing opportunities for women in these rapidly evolving and highly sought-after disciplines.

The online boot camp has a curriculum patterned after in-demand tech skills and soft skills sought by companies. Short-term tech-related courses include Full-Stack Web Development, UX Design, and WordPress Development.

KodeGo has seen an increasing number of women enrolling in its programs, with the number rising as

KodeGo increased the number of boot camps it offers. Currently, women make up 26% of KodeGo’s student population, with a total of 572 as of June 2023– a testament to increased female interest in traditionally male-dominated fields because of KodeGo’s dedication to offering accessible, gender-neutral education.

"KodeGo is deeply committed to addressing the glaring STEM gender-employment gaps in the country," said Cristina Gervasio, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at KodeGo. "By providing quality training, we aim to empower Filipinos, no matter what their gender may be so that they could be more competitive in the IT industry. We envision a future where the tech world sees equal representation of genders, fostering innovation, diversity, and resilience."

Recognizing that the most significant drop in female representation in the STEM workforce occurs between graduation and employment, KodeGo is intensifying efforts to provide a seamless transition for its graduates. By partnering with top-tier companies, KodeGo ensures graduates receive first-rate education and gain hands-on experience in real-world projects, further cementing their place in the STEM workforce.

As an initiative under 917Ventures, KodeGo signifies the Globe Group's ongoing commitment to improving the caliber of Filipino software engineers and promoting gender equality in the tech sector.

For more information about KodeGo and 917Ventures and how they are empowering women in the STEM fields, please visit www.kodego.ph and www.917ventures.com.

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About KodeGo

KodeGo is a study now, pay later tech school offering boot camps on different IT courses to equip beginners, upskillers, and career shifters with critical and highly in-demand skills while offering company-matching support to jumpstart and progress their IT career. KodeGo is a portfolio company under Globe’s corporate venture builder, 917Ventures.