10 months in 2020, the widespread move to virtual conferences, classes, and even competitions have become part of the new normal. Recently, the ASEAN Data Science Explorers (DSE) 2020 National Finals in the Philippines streamed live via Facebook, which attracted over 2,300 viewers. This shows that the pursuit of innovation continues even in the time of the pandemic.

ASEAN DSE is the flagship programme launched in 2017 by ASEAN Foundation and SAP designed to explore the youth’s potential and create a positive social impact in Southeast Asia. The regional competition calls for data-driven proposals from tertiary students across the 10 ASEAN Member States harnessing SAP Analytics to develop solutions towards ASEAN growth and development to improve people’s lives. 

This year, a total of 852 youths across the region competed to represent their country in the National Finals, with 4563 students and lecturers trained in SAP Analytics Cloud.

Representing the Philippines

In the Philippines, the top three teams of the ASEAN DSE 2020 National Finals came from Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology, University of the Philippines – Visayas, and Ateneo de Manila University. Jairus Cairo Libunao and Alleah Eunice Tuliao of Team Incognito from Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology were declared national champions to represent the country in the regional finals this November. The duo’s project focused on waste management.

First-runner up Team Gugma comprised of Kyle Anne Villariza and Genesis Daquinan from the University of the Philippines Visayas presented a project designed to tackle the overexploitation issue of the ASEAN fisheries. Meanwhile, second runner-up Team Board Men comprised of Gabriel Carlo Gamulo and John Michel Lee from Ateneo de Manila University tackled neural community.

The Philippines ASEAN DSE 2020 representative Team Incognito shared their unforgettable experience winning the national finals and how they decided to explore data science on waste management. They said:

“Going into the national finals was really nerve-wracking and, at the same time, exciting! We remember the challenges we had to face in joining this competition. We didn’t know what data science really was. Luckily, our college conducted training on how to do data analysis. That started it all!

“From there, we came up with a storyboard on waste management because we noticed that there’s a loophole in our current waste management system. We thought that if we don’t do any actions about this now, it will continue to cause fatal consequences to us and the environment.” 

National Youth Commission Commissioner-at-Large Paul Anthony Pangilinan said:

“Now more than ever, we need the youth’s creativity and innovativeness in finding solutions and ways to solve emerging problems that our region and the world are facing.

“Their participation is paramount, especially in our recovery from this pandemic and in pushing forward our collective vision of a more resilient and sustainable future for all.”

The three winning teams were judged based on their ability to design the best all-rounded concept that tackles ASEAN socio-economic issues, driven by data insights. Aside from the team’s ability to demonstrate the solutions’ implementation, their projects were critiqued according to creativity, feasibility, and innovation.

Equipping for the New Normal

The ASEAN DSE 2020 reflects the ASEAN Foundation and SAP’s shared objective to equip today’s youth with future-ready skills and explore data science to find innovative solutions to thrive in the new normal.

SAP Philippines Managing Director Edler Panlilio shared:

“Together with the ASEAN Foundation, we at SAP strongly encourage the youth to use their newly learned skills from SAP Analytics Cloud to create sustainable innovations for current social and economic issues.” 

Panlilio encourages the youth to utilise digital skills for their self-development. He added: 

“Digital skills are more relevant now in the middle of our current pandemic situation, and as we look towards recovery. We are pleased to see that youths in ASEAN can make a difference in that goal and improve people’s lives.”

Dr. Yang Mee Eng, the ASEAN Foundation’s Executive Director also said:

“We are very happy to see so many innovative data-driven proposals presented by all National Finalists today. It is a testament to what our youths can do when exposed to and equipped with relevant digital skills and provided with an immersive platform to showcase their talents. We believe that our ASEAN youths can create impactful solutions for the community to prosper if given the opportunity.” 

The ASEAN DSE 2020 also supports Viet Nam’s ASEAN Chairmanship theme of building a “Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN”.

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