Thomasians Place Among Top 7 and Take Home ‘People’s Choice’ Award at UNLEASH LIF Launchpad 2025

The Philippines hosted its first-ever LIF Launchpad Innovation Lab from September 19–25 at the University of Santo Tomas, organized by UNLEASH in partnership with the Royal Academy of Engineering. The week-long program brought together 150 innovators from across the country to tackle pressing challenges in health, agriculture, and sustainable cities. Throughout the sprint, participants engaged in intensive problem-framing, brainstorming, and prototyping before presenting their ideas at the Solutions Festival. The atmosphere buzzed with creativity as young talents showcased early-stage solutions with the potential to grow into impactful ventures.

Among the standout projects was Cropsure, led by UST Technovation Society’s Chief Technology Officer Jam Meisy Tan. The team designed a system that transforms bongo trucks into mobile crop protection units, empowering farmers to safeguard their harvests more effectively. Their community-centered approach earned them the People’s Choice Award, a recognition that highlighted both innovation and relevance to local needs.

“I wanted to apply innovative solutions to the SDGs,” Tan shared. “The challenge was refining a big idea into something viable within days, which taught me the value of rapid prototyping.”

Another Thomasian-led project, Packit! by Josh Kenn Viray and his team, reimagined sustainable packaging to reduce waste and improve accessibility. Their solution stood out at the festival, earning a spot in the Top 7 teams of the Lab. The recognition reflected not only the ingenuity of their concept but also their ability to craft practical solutions under time pressure.

Other Thomasian delegates, including Cyrus Benjamin Canape and John Carlo Benter, joined the Health Track, where their teams worked on pressing healthcare issues.

Canape explained, “I joined UNLEASH to collaborate and network. At first, I struggled with fast-paced ideation, but I learned that structured thinking beats brute force.”

Benter added, “The program showed me the importance of solving real user problems, not just building solutions for their own sake.”

The Innovation Lab marked only the beginning of the LIF Launchpad journey. Selected teams will progress to a three-month prototyping fellowship for refinement and mentorship, with the potential to advance further into LIF Global, the Royal Academy of Engineering’s international startup program.

For the Thomasians, the event was both a competition and a transformative learning space. By stepping into multidisciplinary teams, navigating challenges, and pushing ideas toward impact, they demonstrated how Filipino youth can contribute meaningfully to global conversations on innovation and sustainability.

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