Samsung Philippines has announced the winners of its third Solve for Tomorrow competition, coinciding with the global program’s 15th anniversary.
This year’s Grand Prize was awarded to Cavite Science Integrated School students Elisha Lhane Althea Ramos, Harly P. Bautista, Jhacis Miguel Causapin, and Eileen Cassandra S. Datu, with adviser Jeremae V. Varias. Their project, Mangrove Health Monitor (MaHeMo), is a solar-powered water-quality sensing buoy designed to continuously track mangrove ecosystem health.
Equipped with sensors measuring salinity, turbidity, pH, temperature, and dissolved oxygen, the device aims to help protect and rehabilitate critical mangrove areas by marking zones with floating buoys for easier, ongoing monitoring.
The school will receive P500,000 worth of Samsung devices, while the team and their adviser will take home P250,000 worth of devices. The students will get P100,000 in cash, while their teacher adviser will take home P30,000.
Cavite Science Integrated School also secured the second prize with the project EGGNovation, created by Adam Uriel Berganos, Jared Y. Cabillan, Niel Jullian M. Caringal, and Cedrick A. Del Mundo, under adviser Mharlotte O. Ilagan.
Their innovation is an automated egg quality control segregator that uses a conveyor system and image processing to sort eggs based on yolk freshness—minimizing labor and human error.
The team will receive P300,000 worth of Samsung devices for their school; P250,000 worth of devices for the team and teacher; P70,000 in cash for team members; and P25,000 for their adviser.
Taking third prize was Tuguegarao City Science High School with BANTALAY, a solar-powered UV light trap with humidity-based intensity adjustments for sustainable pest control.
Developed by Zeke Rinzen Maggay, Princess F. Cue, Rhiane Leigh E. Espanto, and Julius James A. Palattao, with adviser Raissa Jennifer C. Pulido, the project aims to reduce chemical use and strengthen agricultural resilience.
Their school will receive P200,000 worth of Samsung devices, while the team and adviser will get P250,000 worth of devices. They will also receive cash—P50,000 for members, and P15,000 for their teacher.
The seven other finalist teams will each receive P15,000 for the students and P5,000 for their advisers.
Launched in 2010, Solve for Tomorrow has grown from an essay challenge into a global platform empowering students to design technology-driven social solutions. This year’s themes included environmental sustainability, social and sports-driven change, and AI for community problem-solving, drawing over 300 entries from public science high schools nationwide.
