Strength to strength

The Asian edition of the Shell Eco-marathon hit a new milestone this year, with the number of teams taking part in the distance challenge hitting a fresh high.

A total of 127 student teams from 17 countries across Asia and beyond entered this year’s competition, up from 105 teams from 15 countries in 2014. Four countries – Saudi Arabia, Oman, Australia, and Bangladesh – took part for the first time.

Another first for this year’s race, held in Manila’s Rizal Park for a second year running: the number of teams that passed stringent technical and safety checks crossed the 100-mark for the first time. Cars from 112 teams were fit for the race.

To win, the contestants had to build a car that could travel the furthest on one litre of fuel, or its equivalent. They also had to design their car according to two broad categories: Prototype, which focuses purely on energy efficiency, and UrbanConcept, which requires the vehicle to resemble those on the roads.

Thailand dominated the competition once again, emerging as the overall winner for the second year running with seven awards in various categories. Five new mileage records were set by teams from Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia.

However, Philippines was also a force to be reckoned with as teams from the host country bagged top awards, besting other entries in the competition. University of the Philippines’ Team UP and De La Salle University’s DLSU Eco Car Team clinched first place in the UrbanConcept’s battery electric category and Shell FuelSave gasoline category by posting the highest mileage with 40.5 km/kWh and 126.6 km/l respectively.

Technological Institute of the Philippines’ Team TIP Mileage Proto won the Off-Track Award, Shell Helix Tribology, for their diligence in quantifying the effects of lubricants on friction, and use of lubricants with varying viscosity to minimise fuel consumption. Team TIP incorporated a chain drive lubricated with a brush type oil dispenser with an automatic timer that also kept the chain clean and looked at the impact of different materials and used wheel bearings with a plastic retainer to improve energy efficiency.

The Shell Eco-marathon, however, is not just about pushing the limits of technology or fuel efficiency. For many teams in Manila this year, the competition was a huge test of their perseverance.

First-time contestant Team Alfaisal from Saudi Arabia was hit by a delay in the shipment of their vehicle and experienced repeated engine problems. But they did not give up. With help from other teams, they worked around the clock for three days to get their car ready.

Likewise, Team Project Garuda from India did not let their two previous failed attempts to join the Shell Eco-marathon deter them. They pushed ahead despite a series of technical issues with their car this year, and eventually completed one official attempt on the urban track around Manila’s Rizal Park.

Oxford Business Group Partners with De La Salle University in Global Academic Programme Initiative

Oxford Business Group (OBG), the global publishing, research and consultancy firm, has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business (RVR-COB) at De La Salle University (DLSU).

Under the agreement, students and faculty staff at the college will be given a university subscription; which offers online access to OBG’s full library of business reports on over 35 emerging markets, and more than 22,000 original articles from over 20 years of primary research, searchable by keyword.

OBG’s Country Director, Lauren Denny, said “The Group’s collaboration with DLSU is part of OBG’s larger Academic Programme initiative to develop relationships with key universities around the world. Students and academics are using OBG as a key source for their dissertations and lectures, and OBG’s offer underlines our commitment to invest in the future leaders of business, investment and academia.

“Improving education is high on the agenda of President Benigno S. Aquino’s government, and we look forward to supporting the country’s bid to put education at the forefront of its development by sharing our business intelligence with the students and academics who are playing a role in shaping the country’s future.”

The President and Chancellor of DLSU, Brother Ricardo Laguda, said he was confident the university’s students and staff would benefit from having access to OBG’s library of reports.

“De La Salle University has worked closely with Oxford Business Group over the past years, contributing to its research on the Philippines’ economy and education sector specifically,” he said. “This new agreement will make an extensive bank of data available on a wide range of emerging markets in one location, which will prove useful to our students and staff, both now and in the future.”

Professor Maria Andrea L. Santiago, the Dean of the RVR-COB, added that with education earmarked for a key role in the country’s ‘inclusive growth’ programme, all eyes were on educational institutions in bringing through the country’s next generation of public and private sector decision-makers.

“As a higher-education training hub, De La Salle University attaches huge importance to research,” she said. “Any move that takes our collaboration with Oxford Business Group up a level can only be positive for the university and its students who will, I’m sure, relish the opportunity to draw on this rich resource.”

OBG currently partners with more than 60 universities and business schools worldwide as part of the programme, providing more than 10,000 students with access to its data. Locally, OBG is also engaging with Centro Escolar University, Jose Rizal University, National University, Philippine Christian University, University of the East, and will continue to reach out to the leading tertiary institutions in the Philippines.

OBG produces annual investment and economic reports on more than 35 emerging markets across the globe. The Report: The Philippines 2014, which marks the Group’s fifth anniversary publication on the country, will be published later this year with research assistance from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Makati Business Club, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Banco De Oro Unibank, SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan and Punongbayan & Araullo.

It will include a chapter on the country’s education sector, while also focusing on the many other facets of the country, including its macroeconomics, infrastructure, banking and other sectoral developments. The publication will be available in print or online.

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