SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA, December 17, 2018 – The Manila Young Investors Association (MYIA), represented by Department of Education (DepEd) public school learners and teachers from the National Capital Region (NCR), reaped distinctions in the Korea International Youth Olympiad 4I 2018 held from August 10 to 12 at the Sejong University in Seoul, South Korea.

Araullo High School – composed of teachers Maria Cecilia Santiago and Amelita De Mesa, and student Alyssandrea Rigor – bagged a gold medal for their invention, Tetraethyl Orthosilicate Blended with Whey Protein Isolate Textile (TEOSWP8-TEX). Rigor also received the Best Woman Inventor Award.

Meanwhile, Tondo High School – composed of teachers Abigael Aquino, Noel Dominice, and Mark Ariel Pecajas, and students Scarlet Nicole Yumang and Oscar Cloud Vincent Yumang – received a bronze medal for their invention, Antioxidant Water Booster from the Ethanolic Crude Extract of Roasted Coffee Bean Residue.

Esteban Abada High School – composed of teachers Elvira Cabaluna and Delia Garcia, and student Eliza Joyce Lim – won a bronze medal for their invention, Paragis – A Grass of Life.

The Philippine delegation reaped gold and bronze medals, and a special award during the Korea International Youth Olympiad (KIYO) 4I 2018 held at the Sejong University in Seoul, South Korea.

Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones lauded the learners and teachers who gained recognition in the said international competition: “Congratulations to all the learners and teachers who joined this competition of creative and innovative minds around the world. May you continue your passion for invention, and also serve an inspiration to others to venture in the field of creating innovative projects and works.”

Moreover, Tondo HS Principal IV and concurrent MYIA President Sonny Valenzuela emphasized that the conduct of invention expos and fairs in school, division, regional, and national levels will revolutionize and jumpstart product development, thus helping boost the country’s economy and generating jobs for the unemployed.

“Opportunities for inventions should be brought to the broad masses of people and it should be accessible to everyone,” Valenzuela said.

This annual event aims to develop global leaders with creativity; challenge spirit and team work; develop leadership skills, based on individual’s strengths to foster the human resources who can lead the creative economy; and cultivate wider perspective as a citizen of the world through exchanging ideas.

The international competition was organized by the World Women Inventors and Entrepreneurs Association (WWIEA), in cooperation with the International Federation of Investors Associate (IFIA) – in which the MYIA is a bonafide corresponding member, and was participated in by 45 countries.

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