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Benilde ABM Strand Students Explore Social Innovation at Animo Create

09 July 2025

09 July 2025

Benilde Senior High School students from the Accountancy, Business, and Management (ABM) strand recently participated in the second edition of Animo Create: Benildean Youth Shaping What’s Next, a three-day design thinking workshop led by the Hub of Innovation for Inclusion (Benilde HiFi). Held from June 9 to 11 at the Augusto-Rosario Gonzalez Theater, the program challenged students to address real-world issues through empathy-driven innovation.

Three standout projects emerged from the final pitch session. The top-ranked entry, Information Schedule System (ISS), proposed the first fully integrated real-time train information system in the Philippines. Designed to ease commuter stress, ISS features digital boards at train stations and a web-based platform that provides live schedules, crowd density visuals, fare estimates, GPS routing, and weather updates. Accessibility is prioritized through text-to-speech and multilingual options, promoting sustainable transport and informed commuting.

The second project, Conch – Emergency Rain and Flood Survival Kit, was developed by the team “The Seven Dwarves.” It offers a compact, all-in-one kit tailored for flood-prone urban areas. The kit includes a multifunctional umbrella with flashlight, waterproof shoe covers, and a reflective raincoat equipped with emergency tools such as a mini first-aid kit, inflatable flotation aid, and safety whistle, providing commuters with practical protection in unpredictable weather.

Pahinga Pod, the third project, is a portable aromatherapy inhaler designed to ease academic stress. Led by Buen Astrid Maglipon and her team, each pod contains essential oils, lavender, lemon, peppermint, and eucalyptus, formulated to promote calm, clarity, and energy. With sustainable materials and student-friendly pricing, the product encourages mental wellness in fast-paced learning environments.

Launched in 2024 under the guidance of Chancellor Benhur Ong, Animo Create is part of Benilde’s broader commitment to empowering student changemakers through empathy-led innovation. The workshop was facilitated by Impact Week-trained coaches certified through an international entrepreneurship and sustainability program, and made possible through the collaboration of several Benilde offices and centers. These include the Hub of Innovation for Inclusion (HiFi), the Center for Intellectual Property Management (CIPM), the Center for Partnership Advancement (CPA), the Center for Inclusive Education (CIE), the Benilde Educational Technology Office (EdTech), the Benilde Marketing Center (BMC), the Center for Social Action (CSA), and the Center for Admissions, Scholarships and Grants (CASG). Their combined expertise ensured a holistic and inclusive experience across the full design thinking cycle: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test.

Benilde HiFi continues to nurture inclusive innovation through initiatives like Animo Create. Earlier this year, it supported student startup ideas from the Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship program in a collaborative bootcamp with the Singapore University of Social Sciences, where participants tackled pressing social issues through design thinking and entrepreneurship. In a separate milestone, sixteen early-stage ventures from its Trailblazer Startup incubation program successfully entered the BAJ Accelerator in New York, gaining access to expert-led workshops, targeted coaching, and global networking opportunities. It’s a clear example of how Benilde HiFi meets innovators where they are, whether in classrooms or startup hubs, and helps them build for what’s next.

The next run of Animo Create will engage students from the Technical-Vocational-Livelihood (TVL) and General Academic Strand (GAS) tracks on July 2 to 4, 2025.

For more information on Benilde’s Senior High School strand offerings, contact us at (63) 2 8230 5100 local 1801 or admissions@benilde.edu.ph. You may also visit our website at www.benilde.edu.ph.

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