Manila gears up for the Shell Eco-Marathon (SEM) Asia in February 2014. First time to be held in the Philippines, SEM is an annual global mobility competition that challenges students to innovate, build, and test cars that can run a set distance using the least amount of energy.
The SEM is Shell’s biggest education platform, which incites innovation and creativity amongst the youth in developing new approaches to sustainable mobility.
“We are very excited to be hosting Shell Eco-marathon Asia next year as we celebrate Shell’s 100-year presence in the Philippines” said Roberto Kanapi, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation Vice President for Communications. “We at Shell are committed to providing clean, sustainable energy and educating our consumers on energy conservation and fuel efficiency.
Annually held in Europe and America, SEM debuted in Asia in 2010 with Sepang International Circuit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as the venue. Picking up the feat, Manila is prepared to be the host of the event next year. The historic Luneta Park will be transformed into a track where over 150 student teams from countries across Asia and the Middle East will compete in the mileage competition. Full of firsts, the event will pioneer road-track circuit in Asia for SEM and will be the first witness to a competition held in an urban setting, to which will give students a real-life driving experience.
As a teaser, eight of the thirteen participating Philippine teams will showcase their cars in a public run at the SMX Convention Center on October 23. The teams come from the country’s top engineering schools, namely: De La Salle University, Mapua Institute of Technology, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Technological Institute of the Philippines Manila, Technological Institute of the Philippines Quezon City and University of Santo Tomas.
The public run coincides with 61st National Convention of the Philippine Society of Mechanical Engineers (PSME NATCON).
“Having the Shell Eco-marathon public run against the backdrop of the PSME NATCON provides a good platform for engineering professionals, students, trade partners and stakeholders to come together and think about sustainable mobility solutions to meet current and future energy challenges,” added Mr. Kanapi.
Aside from the public run, Shell will also be inviting SEM alumni to talk about their experience in joining Shell Eco-marathon and a talk on smarter mobility during the PSME NATCON’s 2nd PSME Mechanical Engineers Students Conference.