Student Techpreneur Represents Philippines in Global Student Entrep Meet

Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) recently concluded the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA), where student entrepreneurs from over 50 countries competed in Frankfurt, Germany for a chance of further boosting their own business ventures.

Premier student entrepreneur competition

The Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) is the premier global competition for student entrepreneurs who actively run a business. An annual program hosted by the Entrepreneur’s Organization (EO), the GSEA gives young business owners a chance to win capital that could help grow their ventures. More importantly, the GSEA provides a platform where the students could be connected with key industry players locally and internationally, allowing them to gain valuable insights and learn best practices, which they could apply to their businesses.

“The Global Student Entrepreneurship Awards program is now on its fourth year in the country and hosting the GSEA is part of EO Philippines’ commitment to inspire a community of young entrepreneurs in the country” says Debbie Rodrigo, Chairperson of EO GSEA Philippines 2016-2017. “We tried to cast a wide net for student entrepreneurs to apply and compete in this year’s competition for a chance to represent the Philippines in the global finals, and we take pride in seeing how the competition has inspired more students to pursue entrepreneurship.”

Sponsored by COL Financial, the fourth local leg of the GSEA also provided an opportunity for participating student entrepreneurs and EO Philippines members to learn best practices and insights on entrepreneurship from guest speaker and former EO GSEA winner Tyler Olson, Chief Executive Officer of US-based social media consultancy firm SMCpros.

The PH student techpreneur

IN PHOTO: Adiel Sam De Jesus (8th from left, with family) of Diversified Computer Learning Approach (DCLA) wins top honors for the local leg of the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA), while Shawntel Nieto (8th from right, with team) of BMB Solutions was named as first runner-up. Joining them in the photo, from left to right, are: EO GSEA Philippines Committee and Judges Amon Chiong, Raymond Rufino, Debbie Rodrigo, Sheree Gotuaco, Karla Campos, Merrick Sua, Rhyan Uy, Anton Gonzalez, Andoni Albert, and Tyler Olson.

Adiel Sam De Jesus, a senior engineering student from De La Salle University, represented the Philippines after besting 15 other student entrepreneurs during the local leg of the competition. De Jesus showcased his company, Diversified Computer Learning Approach (DCLA), which provides an output-based computer education module and software for elementary and high school students, to an audience of seasoned entrepreneurs with different industry backgrounds, and coming from different countries.

According to De Jesus, DCLA aims to move away from traditional means of computer education through following a Learn-Explore-Apply (LEAP) approach that will allow students to practice basic computer skills such as web development, programming, and app development.

“I wanted to set standards for computer education by developing an innovative program that will develop the technical skills of students,” says De Jesus. “Instead of relying on concepts to teach the basics of computers to students, DCLA provides a platform for them to learn about computers through a hands-on approach, where they can apply their knowledge and skills to produce output.”

DCLA provides schools with free installation and maintenance of all involved software required for the curriculum, while also conducting a series of training seminars for teachers as part of the program’s curriculum management.

As a finalist to the Global Finals of GSEA, De Jesus was exposed to a network of studentpreneurs and key industry players from different countries. De Jesus mentions that having gone through the competition has pushed him to improve on DCLA, and challenged him to continue expanding it not just locally, but even potentially, to neighboring Asian countries.