Mapúa’s Team Aguila bags off-track award in Shell Eco-Marathon Asia 2013

Mapúa Institute of Technology’s Team Aguila bagged the technical innovation award in the Asian leg of Shell Eco-Marathon (SEM) 2013, besting other teams from the region. 

 

The technical innovation award, which is one of the five off-track awards, is given to the team that achieves the most significant technical advancement and original technical solution or use of new materials. 

 

Team Cardinals fielded eco cars Aguila and Haribon this year, which the team said the culmination of all the techniques, technologies, and innovations they learned from the competition in the last three consecutive years.

 

“Working and developing innovations for the eco cars has always been a passion for every Team Cardinal member. To be able to top all other teams for this unique award surely makes up for all our sacrifices, trials, and hardships,” said Engr. Sherwin Magon, coordinator of Mapúa’s Robotics Center and Team Cardinals project leader.

 

Engr. Magon added that because of this latest recognition, Mapúans can expect more technical innovations from the team in the next SEM Asia which will be held in the country.

 

“We will be sure to compete with vigor and more energy for the 2014 Shell Eco-Marathon Asia,” he said.

 

The Institute’s achievements in the regional competition summarize the dexterity and creativity of its students. Being the biggest and one of the best engineering schools in the country, Mapúa considers SEM Asia as an important avenue to showcase its students’ ingenuity.

 

“SEM Asia has been an opportunity for us to further learn new technologies and be at par with the emerging trends of the world. To be able to reveal the potential of Mapúans to conceptualize, design, develop, race, and compete with the best of the best is an opportunity and a challenge worth accepting,” Engr. Magon said.

 

Aside from learning the engineering principles and scientific theories, he said the students are also given the chance to understand the concept of business, management and entrepreneurship, which they can use in the future as professional engineers.

 

The Institute is one of the pioneers in the three-year-old SEM Asia.  Under the guidance of Engr. Magon and Engr. Igmedio Isla, 19 mechanical and manufacturing engineering students made up the two teams that worked on Aguila and Haribon for months. 

 

They were scheduled to fly to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for the July 4 to 7 competition but the main event was cancelled due to heavy haze. 

 

The competition in Manila will take place from February 6 to 9, 2014.

 

About Mapúa

 

Founded in 1925, the Mapúa Institute of Technology (MIT) is the biggest engineering school in the Philippines. It has campuses in Intramuros, Manila, and Makati and runs the Malayan Colleges Laguna (MCL) in Southern Luzon and the Malayan High School of Science (MHSS) in Pandacan, Manila. Mapúa envisions itself as a global center of excellence in education by providing instructions that are current in content and state-of-the-art in delivery; by engaging in cutting-edge, high-impact research; and by aggressively taking on present-day global concerns.

Press release and photo from Mapúa Institute of Technology