More than just engineering! PSME-MITSU bags best delegate!

John Marvil Chua
Sep 4, 2016
2 min read

Dedicated to its mission in nurturing its members beyond just engineering, the Philippine Society of Mechanical Engineers – Mapúa Student Unit, in collaboration with the University of the Philippines Investment Club launched the SMART INVESTING SUMMIT 2016 last September 3, 2016. This summit comprised of delegates from different schools around the Philippines with different backgrounds. The summit also hosted different notable speakers such as KlaseKo founder and CEO Mr. Carlo Valencia, Kickstart Ventures Vice President Ms. Joan Cybil Yao, and Narra Ventures Managing Partner as well as Brain Gain Network founder Mr. Francisco Sandejas.

Each plenary tackled distinct colors of venture capitalism, each contributing on the emphasis of importance of start-ups to the improve of a nation. Each speaker was able to share their unique perspectives and experiences they had while on their respective journeys in this field.

Mr. Valencia, shared the ropes on starting up, as well as his personal story. He gifted the audience with valuable lessons, with “Don’t pay it back. Pay it forward” being the most notable.

Ms. Yao, being the vice president of a start-up funder, tackled the question “What makes a start-up successful?”. This include ways of how start-ups do not just remain a start-up but successful businesses in the long run.

Lastly, Mr. Sandejas, a masters and doctorate degree holder of electrical engineering at Stanford University, emphasized the importance of technology and the youth in the development of a nation. He encouraged the youth to partake in engineering, emphasizing how the “Silicon Valley” served as a catalyst in the advancement of technology that contributed to a nation’s growth.

The summit also comprised of an interactive activity where delegates were grouped into different sectors – namely energy, food, health, food, and transportation. Each group were tasked to name a problem in their assigned sector, and give a solution to that with the help of a start-up idea. To name a few, from the energy sector came an idea of reloadable back up electricity for the communities that are affected by rotational brown-outs in Mindanao, from the transportation sector emerged a start-up idea similar to Waze but with the integration of MMDA database for real-time traffic updates, an improved farm to market network was suggested to alleviate the food shortages on certain areas nationwide, and from the health sector came an idea of online ambulance which can be contacted using phone apps. This activity once again proved the role of engineers as problem solvers, as most if not all of the start-up idea required the technical attributes that engineers must be well acquainted with.

Lorenz Toloes Jr. A PSME-MITSU delegate was chosen as one of the Best Delegate for the summit.

Lorenz Toleos Jr., A PSME-MITSU delegate was chosen as one of the Best Delegate for the summit.

The summit was aimed for students to broaden their horizons, allowing them to extend their reach on another realm that seemed far from engineering at first. PSME-MITSU wanted to introduce to its members the wonders of engineering beyond just theories and formulas, a world not bounded by texts and books. Aware that the development of future leaders lies beyond just their academic education, PSME-MITSU will continue to create constructive and creative activities for the development of its members!