Filipino students, researchers, data analysts, computer programmers, app developers and other stakeholders who are interested to join the "Online Design Thinking Class" of FLExPHD (Food is Life Exemplified for Planetary Health Diet) have until Dec. 31, 2022 to submit their application.
Director Glenn Gregorio of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) said FLExPHD is a mobile app development competition open to organizations and app developers who can collaborate to find solutions to the unhealthy diet among Filipinos.
FlexPHD is an initiative of SEARCA in partnership with the National Academy of Science and Technology of the Philippines and the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology.
Gregorio said the app is envisioned to serve as a guide for consumers in making data and values-driven food choices with planetary health diet as the core of the decision support system.
He explained that a planetary health diet is a form of sustainable diet that is healthful for both people and the planet.
"Planetary diet is protective of the environment and can be adapted to be culturally acceptable, accessible, economically fair and affordable and nutritionally adequate, safe and healthy while optimizing natural and human resources," Gregorio said.
"There is no required educational attainment or age limit," he added.
Leah Lyn Domingo, SEARCA public relations specialist, said the top 40 teams to complete the FLExPHD Design Thinking Class will each receive P10,000 as ideation fund to help them develop their ideas.
She added that there will be four regional competitions covering the National Capital Region (NCR or Metro Manila), Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao and from these regional hackathons, 12 teams will be selected, each receiving P50,000 as seed fund for prototype improvement.
The competition will culminate on the National Demo Day to be held in 2023 where the teams will compete for the P500,000 grand prize.
The second prize winner will receive P200,000 and the third prize winner will receive P100,000.
Applications may be submitted online via https://bit.ly/FLExPHDForm.
