Manila Symph AI 30 x 30

Symph, a dynamic software development consulting firm in the Philippines had their #SymphAI30x30 Media Party held in BGC last May 23, 2023. Just a few days earlier, on May 18, 2023, another press conference took place at The Company Cebu. And now, it was Manila's turn to host this remarkable event. 

Symph is dedicated to empowering individuals and fostering understanding of AI's role within society. The event served as a crucial step toward achieving these goals. Symph extends its heartfelt thanks to the media representatives who actively supported the event, aiding in educating the public about the impact of AI on the community and addressing potential challenges. 

Our Chief Operating Officer, Jarrhey dela Peña stated during the event, "We have this theme, Build Openly with AI. We share our AI apps as work-in-progress. More importantly, we invite the community to try the apps and we listen to their feedback. Together, we are building the future we want to create." 

During the press conference, Symph showcased the AI apps developed by its talented team based in Manila. Edson Carreon, our full-stack developer, introduced Grognak, an AI Caveman app that simplifies complex topics for better understanding. This app holds great potential for museums and tech or science-related events, making learning a fun and effortless experience for kids.

Ragan Lamoc, our full-stack developer, demonstrated Fitplanr. It is an AI-powered personal trainer app that generates custom gym programs. By seamlessly integrating with gyms and fitness amenities, Fitplanr empowers both gym-goers and beginners to kickstart their workouts with confidence.

In addition, Jarrhey dela Peña showcased Prompeteer which was developed by Michael Suarez, our AI and Fullstack engineer based in Cebu. Jarrhey personally uses the app daily, which empowers users to create AI-powered chatbots without coding. After Jarrhey demoed the app, media participants were able to create their own AI apps within minutes. Prompeteer offers businesses an opportunity to showcase their brand persona through an AI app, helping customers make informed purchase decisions through engaging conversations. 

Symph is excited to captivate audiences with its upcoming AI events and initiatives. The company is dedicated to reshaping the AI landscape, constantly exploring new horizons and pushing the boundaries of technological advancements. With their unwavering commitment to #BuildOpenlyWithAI, Symph invites everyone to join them on this exciting journey. Get ready to be inspired and amazed!

About Symph

Symph is a software development consulting firm in the Philippines where they build web and mobile apps for clients such as 500 startups, government agencies, and even the World Bank. With their current AI app initiatives, their team is dedicated to making AI accessible and enjoyable for everyone, pushing the limits of technology, and creating a smarter, more connected future.

Our team of developers, designers, project managers, marketers, product owners, and QA pros are committed to crafting AI apps that are not just functional, but also fun for everyone.

We want to inspire and empower people to embrace and reap the benefits of Artificial Intelligence. Want to see the cool AI apps we've built so far? Check out https://www.symph.ai/ 

Keep an eye out for more of our AI apps we will continue to build!

Know more about Symph here: https://www.symph.co/

Shopee Supports the Development of Tech Talent with Shopee Code League, the First-Ever Regional Virtual Coding Competition

MANILA, JUNE 18, 2020 - Shopee, the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, has launched Shopee Code League, a first of its kind 'Code from Home' challenge made available across the region. This initiative offers tech enthusiasts an opportunity to learn and upgrade their skills as the demand for tech talents continues to rise.

A two-month-long program, Shopee Code League is an online coding challenge that includes weekly competitions and digital training workshops open to all students and professionals. Through this initiative, all tech enthusiasts will get equal access to learning opportunities, including the chance to work on real data sets and challenges in the tech industry. Registered participants will also have the opportunity to attend numerous free online training workshops touching on topics including data analytics and data science. Participants will also gain access to talks by industry leaders, including Andrei D. Coronel Ph.D., Chair in the Department of Information Systems & Computer Science. He will be sharing his views on the importance of technology and nurturing the next generation of tech talent.

Martin Yu, Associate Director at Shopee Philippines, said, "We are excited to help tech enthusiasts learn and upgrade their skills from home through the Shopee Code League. Shopee has successfully organized past coding challenges, and we are taking it a step further by bringing tech communities from across the region together for the first time virtually. Shopee Code League aims to help potential tech talents to make a difference in the tech community. We will continue to empower the growth of tech talents and develop a tech ecosystem that will drive the Philippine digital economy forward."

Registration is open until June 30. For more information about the Shopee Code League, please visit https://careers.shopee.sg/codeleague/.

Microsoft Azure Virtual Hackathon to Create Innovative Solutions using Artificial Intelligence

While avoiding crowded places like schools and workplaces and staying-at-home to avoid coronavirus infection, making innovative projects and solutions can be a unique opportunity at the comfort of your own home.

Technology allows people to connect with each other despite physical distancing and can make lives more comfortable and productive by exactly knowing when the next ride arrives or minimize crop losses in urban farms. Artificial intelligence mimics human behavior and thinking, while cloud computing allows access to system resources and data storage without owning and managing expensive servers. Combining AI with the cloud enables developers and engineers to use and access cutting-edge technologies and resources to solve complex problems affecting people and society.

Microsoft, ride-hailing app Grab, and the United Nations Development Programme partner with AngelHack to bring together talented developers, engineers, designers, technologists, and entrepreneurs to solve real-world business challenges from the Asia-Pacific region. This free "virtual" hackathon enables teams to collaborate online and use Azure technologies like computer vision and natural language processing to create innovative and transformative solutions.
 
"We are teaming up with Microsoft to organize this virtual hackathon to engage our talented developers community across APAC to code for a meaningful cause. We are excited about what our community will innovate," according to Asia-Pacific regional manager Jasmine Nguyen of AngelHack.

Surface tablets, job opportunities, visit to Singapore, and $ 3,000 are waiting for those who will create best applications and solutions.

This virtual hackathon is open for residents in Singapore, Korea, New Zealand, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, or Brunei. Age should be 18 years or older and part of a team up to five participants.

The first phase starts on April 17 until May 17 where ideas has to be formed and, solution design and architecture has to be submitted. Prototypes must be submitted on the second phase on May 25 to June 14 addressing the challenges presented.

Register for free at https://www.msazurevirtualhack.com/ to join the virtual hackathon.

Deadline of registration is on May 17.

This competition is powered by AngelHack. Visit the website at https://angelhack.com/

About AngelHack

AngelHack is an organization founded with the desire to connect the tech-loving community to make new ideas come true. Within 7 years, AngelHack has been a pioneer in innovative promotion programs, co-organized and helped organize hackathons, digital-based competitions, accelerators, meetups, and ideas developed in more than 20 cities worldwide.

With a diverse community of more than 160,000 programmers, designers and entrepreneurs, AngelHack is a trusted bridge for individuals and groups who want to find innovative solutions. Arriving in Vietnam from January 2019, AngelHack Vietnam has successfully organized two Hackathons in Hanoi & Ho Chi Minh City and opened many new and effective ideas and solutions for sponsors and businesses. The goal of 2019-2020 is to focus on building the community, improving the quality of human resources, and working with other businesses to find new solutions.

Impact Hub Manila and Philippines' Largest Hackathon

MAKATI CITY, Philippines. (November 19, 2019) Startup founders, representatives from government agencies and private corporations, top executives and consultants, and hackathon participating teams hailing from 13 cities across the Philippines came together as Impact Hub Manila concludes the Impact Hackathon at the 2050fest - the ultimate pitching event held at The Eye, Green Sun Hotel in Makati City on November 19, 2019.

Mounting the biggest hackathon in the Philippines is no small feat for Impact Hub Manila, even during this era of coding marathons. Not only was it successfully executed, but Impact Hub Manila has welcomed and embraced the best team of coders and IT professionals from various industries to its community as they push forward a common goal: to utilize the untapped potential of the country and create new solutions to the existing social problems of the world. In the same event, the leadership of Impact Hub Manila also announced Impact Hackathon 2020, this time, spanning beyond the Philippines and extending throughout Asia Pacific.

The event featured talks from industry experts, gave what Asec. Kristian Ablan of the Presidential Communications and Operations Office as the "budding innovators" an insight to the public-private department relations in the startup landscape, along with the existing initiatives and programs they could benefit from. Several talks followed which pre-empted the actual pitching were concluded with a session about community building moderated by 18-year-old technologist Audrey Pe of WiTech (Women in Technology) who said that "community-building is not easy." Experts in the field, including the likes of Andrew Wong of E3 Entrepreneur Hub, Robert Reyes of Mozilla Philippines, and Eah Antonio of YFPH all likened it to child-bearing, birthing, and raising - from the labor pains to remembering the why while looking at your child, and just powering through. Wong had said that once the why (mission and vision for startups) is clear, "Nothing is impossible, impossible is nothing."

One of the main highlights of the event were the actual pitching, where 15 of the MVP projects were chosen from the Impact Hackathon and presented before an esteemed panel of jurors.

The finalists included Herbal Plant (Vigan), Kugel Tech (Baguio), Dashwerq (Iligan), Crimera (Bacolod), UPark (Iloilo), MedFind(Batangas), NutriScan(Manila), Help Aid(Davao), iServe (Catbalogan), Hemria (Catbalogan), Agua Meter (Bacolod), Transfarm (Manila), Ayamica (Iloilo), Asboc (Batangas), and Transcash (Metro Manila). The pitching which lasted for approximately two hours, had presenters, ranging from age 9 to beyond 30, showing the judges the workings of their conceptualized solutions in a bid for support. The pitching was shortly followed by deliberations which lasted for some time, and eventually concluded with the announcement of Transfarm as the National Impact Hackathon winner.

Transfarm walked away with 170,000 php (70,000 of which was from winning the Manila leg of the hackathon) in cash prize and a full year incubation program that includes a global membership access to the Impact Hub network, intensive training, access to vast pool of expert mentors, network, and coworking. The year long incubation program is valued at over 1,500,000 pesos.

The top 15 apart from receiving the prizes from winning the student (15,000 php) and professional category (20,000 php) will also be receiving a full year of incubation support from Impact Hub Manila.

The winning IT-based solution, Transfarm, is an end-to-end ecommerce and marketing solution, created in a bid to bridge the gap between the local producers and the large scale business consumers with the goal of enabling farmers to appropriately market their harvest and avoid wastage from oversupply.

The team who made the winning pitch said that they were from different backgrounds, but "from the Hackathon, [we] really did our best to collaborate, deliberate, and build the idea."

Some of the mentors and judges also offered support, starting with PLDT who said that they "don't just provide support" but are also "ready to co-incubate." Jhaze Asuncion of Upscale Innovations Lab and Department of Science and Technology Tech-Business Incubators (DOST-TBI) lauded Impact Hub for the "great opportunity for startups from the regions" and said, "We will be more than happy to support these startups if they will apply to us incubators."

“This is how startups are born. You change everything on the fly." says Rondario of Impact Hub and added, "This event is not the end. This is the beginning. It is Day 0 and the real work starts tomorrow."

After acknowledging the support and presence of this year's event sponsors including Quezon City Government under the leadership of Mayor Joy Belmonte, the Araneta Group, Asian Development Bank, PLDT, Smart, NutriAsia, Unilab, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Science and Technology PCIEERD, Department of Information and Communication Technology, the Tourism Promotion Board of the DOT, Freidrich Neuman Foundation, Dentsu Aegis Network, The PhilStar Group, Businessworld SparkUp, Microsoft Philippines, ClinkIT, Green Sun Hotel, KMC Solutions, ASEANHR, GIZ Philippines, Forest Foundation Philippines,Mozilla Philippines Community, DevCon Philippines, 2030 Youth Force Philippines, Edukasyon, Canva, Manila Wordpress, Women In Technology, Women Who Code, When In Manila, Alfox Printing Services, Google Developers Philippines, Girls Who Code, Deskera, Pantheon, Manila Angel Investors Network, JobStream Philippines, Global Entrepreneurship Network, Veer Philippines, PhilRobotics, PCI Tech Innovation Center and many more, Rondario also extended an invitation for partnerships for the Impact Hackathon 2020, as they prepare to launch a regional hackathon next year.

Impact Hackathon, the WORLD'S BIGGEST HACKATHON – an official Guinness World Records attempt this October 30-31, 2019

Quezon City, Philippines ​–​ The world’s biggest hackathon, “Impact Hackathon”, is set to take place at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Philippines, along with more hackathon coding-teams from over 15 nationwide locations simultaneously participating in this 24-hour on-the-spot coding marathon.

With a mindset to be part of Guinness World Records history, Impact Hub Manila is interfacing with programmers, developers, and innovators towards creating sustainable solutions for specific problem statements proposed by the Hub’s multi-stakeholder partners.

The current Guinness World Records (GWR) record-holder is the Hajj Hackathon, a coding event in Saudi Arabia with 2,950 participants. Impact Hackathon is an official attempt by Impact Hub Manila and its partners to break the said record by official GWR standards by activating more than 10,000 participants with 3,500 of them coding from a single venue in Quezon City – at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Future-proofing today, envisioning 2050

The Impact Hackathon teams will create technology-based solutions anchored to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals targeting global issues in Climate Change, Education, Agriculture, Smart Cities, and Health. These themes are specifically highlighted because of their global relevance and the ability of the hackathon participants from this part of the world to offer their own insight to efficiently address these issues.

Described as one of the world’s most ambitious technology events this 2019, the Impact Hackathon also encourages its participants to think bigger and farther out into the future and use technology as a platform for scaling the impact. The main event organizer, Impact Hub Manila, has set the year 2050 as the horizon and viable target for these larger-scale solutions foreseen to roll-out from the hackathon event. 10,000+ Participants, 2,000 teams, and 800 mentors

Everyone’s going to be there!

Besides more than 10,000 hackathon participants, Impact Hackathon brings together the biggest network of personalities representing brands from the technology, startup, and entrepreneurship sectors in the region. The Philippine Government, together with its local government units, and with various international government organizations, will proactively participate to ensure that Impact Hackathon will be a great global moment for incubating solutions and implementing large-scale delivery of these solutions.

As one of the longest-running start-up incubators in the region, Impact Hub Manila is in cooperation and partnership with the following representatives of the government, private, start-up, and corporate sectors, namely: the Asian Development Bank, Dentsu Aegis Network, KMC, GIZ, SparkUP Business World, Forest Foundation, WWF, KumuMedia Technologies, Smart, PLDT, the Department of Science and Technology, the Department of Information and Communications Technology, the Department of Trade and Industry, the League of Cities of the Philippines, Microsoft, Team Bam Aquino, UnionBank, and Gawad Kalinga.

The Impact Hub Manila with some of their partners for Impact Hackathon: KMC, GIZ, Department of Trade and Industry (HQ, EMB, and NCRO), SparkUp BusinessWorld, Forest Foundation, WWF Philippines, Gawad Kalinga, Department of Tourism, Team Bam Aquino, PLDT, UnionBank, Kumu Inc, Smart, and the Department of Energy.

The Philippines as a mega solutions-incubator for the world

“There are so many problems in the Philippines and in the region and where there are problems, there’s opportunity for entrepreneurship to rise. It opens the door for people to think, do, and be better,” says Impact Hub Manila Founder and CEO Ces Rondario. She adds that “this is a time for better thinking and solutions-finding, and the region and the Philippines can lead in this. This is our chance to define our future and the world in 2050. This is our time.”

Impact Hub and Ces Rondario

Impact Hackathon is the second of four installments of the larger Impact2050™ Program, an integrated and innovative multi-year entrepreneurial program that aims to catalyze the impact entrepreneurship ecosystem in the Asia-Pacific. The entire four-phase program–the Elevate National Startup Roadshow, Impact Hackathon, 2050fest, and Incubate 2020–was developed following the natural progression of a successful startup: education, ideation, discovery and networking, and incubation.

The four phases of the Impact2050 Program:

the Elevate National Startup Roadshow, Impact Hackathon, 2050fest, and Incubate 2020 (not in the image as it is a for 2020 onwards)

Impact Hub (Global Community – ​www.impacthub.net​) is the world’s largest network of impact entrepreneurs with more than 17,000 members from more than 100 hubs located in more than 50 countries around the world. Impact Hub’s Global Community headquarters is in Vienna, Austria.

Impact Hub Manila CEO and Founder, Ces Rondario is also the lead of Impact Hub Asia, with hubs in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Taiwan.

Impact Hub Asia Pacific Lead and Impact Hub Manila Founder and CEO, Ces Rondario

Highlighting the value of being part of a global community of entrepreneurs, Ces Rondario says: “I have always believed that access to opportunity is the key differentiator between those who make it and those who don't. That's why bringing in the global network of Impact Hub is so important, in that it's a platform for Filipino entrepreneurs to aspire for, helping them scale globally.”

Registration and more information
To be part of the world’s largest impact event for 2019, register at www.impact2050.com/tickets​.

Please visit www.impact2050.com/hackathon for more information about Impact Hackathon.
Or send an email to Camille Lim camille.lim@impacthub.net.
More about
Impact Hub Global Community
Impact Hub Manila
Impact Hackathon
Impact2050
Tickets and registration

www.impacthub.net
www.impacthub.ph
www.impact2050.com/hackathon
www.impact2050.com
www.impact2050.com/tickets

The digital version of this press release and the images in it can be downloaded from: www.impact2050.com/pressOCT8