Student innovators take top honors

Student teams with technology-driven solutions for waterway waste, livestock processing and poultry health took top honors at the third annual Startup QC Student Competition.

The competition concluded with a final pitch presentation and ceremony at the Quezon City MICE Center on Thursday awarding a total of P995,000 in seed funding across 47 student teams.

Creekbin captured the grand champion title and the P100,000 top prize for its solar-powered waste collection system. The device uses automated retrieval paired with Internet of Things sensors to collect floating debris and monitor water quality.

Agriculture Farming Innovation Technology took second place and P75,000 for a compact feed mixer and cutter designed to prevent machine clogging and increase operational efficiency on livestock farms.

Meantime, Birdseye earned third place and P50,000 for an artificial intelligence and sensor system created to improve poultry farm biosecurity by tracking ammonia levels and litter moisture, two major factors impacting bird health.

The top entries were selected from 153 national applicant teams, with 92 qualifying for an intensive mentorship phase covering design thinking, financial management, intellectual property, and venture pitching.

The cohort more than doubled the 37 teams that advanced to the training phase during the program’s second edition in 2025.

In addition to the main prize winners, 11 teams received silver awards of P25,000 each, while 33 teams received bronze awards of P15,000 each.