GBF Selects 3 Young Scientist Awardees from DOST’s imake.wemake Competition

Scholarships, mentoring, and immersive opportunities await the young scholars

On July 26, 2021, Hidilyn Diaz made history when she won the first-ever Olympic gold medal for the Philippines at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Her victory is a resounding reminder that with hard work and determination, one can, in a manner of speaking, lift an entire nation. Her story serves as an inspiration and hope, that indeed, the Filipino can.  

With the same faith in the ability of Filipinos to excel, the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation and the Department of Science and Technology–Science Education Institute share the goal of recognizing and empowering young emerging scientists to become future innovators and nation builders. 

On July 30, 2021, GBF partnered with DOST–SEI for the family foundation to confer its Young Scientist Award upon outstanding students from the DOST’s imake.wemake: create.innovate.collaborate competition.  


“The project imake.wemake aims to unleash the creativity of young Filipinos in innovation using accessible technologies to address a community issue or improve a social condition,” said Dr. Ruby Cristobal of DOSTSEI during the MOA signing. While there are prizes at stake, the division chief added that imake.wemake is more than a contest. “It is meant for children to be able to recognize their role in their respective communities,” she said.  

With not more than 20% of high school graduates pursuing careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), imake.wemake is one of the ways DOSTSEI is promoting a strong culture of science among Filipino youth.  

“Our mandate is to increase the number of STEM human resources in support of inclusive development in the Philippines and to strengthen science, technology, and innovation in the country,” said Dr. Josette Biyo, DOSTSEI director. She added that through its strategic programs, the organization hopes to execute its vision of promoting “the importance of science, technology, and innovation in improving the quality of life of the majority of the Filipinos, if not of the entire country.”


This mirrors GBF’s commitment to help advance and uplift STEM education in the Philippines. “We aim to support our young scientists’ passion for applied scientific research and innovation, as well as their drive to serve their communities through a college scholarship grant for their chosen STEM courses,” said Grace Colet, executive director of GBF.

Open nationwide to senior high school students, the fourth edition of the DOST’s research and innovation competition was held online from August 25 to 27, 2021. This year, imake.wemake’s fields of study included food safety and security, traffic and road congestion, health, education, disaster mitigation, entrepreneurship, agriculture, and the environment.   


From the competition’s 15 finalist schools, GBF conferred the Young Scientist Award to three outstanding students who each “exhibited admirable values and a strong commitment to STEM education,” according to Colet.

Recognized at the awarding ceremony on August 27 were Jimuel Clarence Z. Malimban and John Kenneth V. Sanchez from Cavite Science Integrated School for the team project “ABSCISSA: An Arduino-Based Smart Contactless Interface Integrated with Syndromic Surveillance and Alert System for Fomite-Mediated Transmission Mitigation,” while Anjeli L. Merecido from Ramon Teves Pastor MemorialDumaguete Science High School was lauded for her “Project WWW: A Multifunctional Waste-Water Web for Agrobotics.”

The newly selected GBF Young Scientists Awardees will undergo mentoring, training, and other immersive opportunities to enhance and elevate their STEM expertise with the help of GBF’s academic and business unit partners such as URC, Cebu Pacific, and Robinsons Land, among others.  

By supporting programs like the imake.wemake competition, GBF hopes to help shape a new generation of Filipinos who, like Hidilyn, can use their skill sets for the greater good of the nation. “You can make a difference. We can make a difference,” said Colet. “Our future is building as we speak based on what we decide on and how we choose to live today.” 

For more information on the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation, visit gokongweibrothersfoundation.org 

To learn more about the Department of Science and Technology–Science Education Institute and its programs, visit sei.dost.gov.ph