The Department of Science and Technology-Information and Communications Technology (DOST-ICT) Office, in partnership with Philippine Software Industry Association, Ideaspace, Huwaei, and Vibal Foundation launched the 2015 Philippine Startup Challenge (PSC) last May 20, 2015 at ICT Office Building in Diliman, Quezon City.

Now on its 2nd year, PSC is a student startup competition promoting technology entrepreneurship or “technopreneurship” among college students. It dares the students all over the country to create bolder, more creative software and internet-based innovations that solve real problems and help improve the lives of individuals worldwide.

To join the competition, each team must have four members composed of one faculty adviser and three students. The faculty adviser must have attended or will attend at least one of the preparatory boot camps for PSC. These are the Lean Startup 101 Boot Camp in 2014 and the boot camps for 2015 scheduled on the following dates: June 6 in Cebu City, June 13 in Davao City, June 20 in Iloilo City, July 4 in Baguio City, July 8 in Metro Manila, and July 25 in Cagayan de Oro City.

A preparatory boot camp is a series of workshops for faculty advisers and teachers of information technology and computer science for them to learn the basics about building and operating a startup company.

Each aspiring team must submit a five-minute video pitch presentation of their startup idea by the end of August 2015. From the submitted entries, the ten best entries will be selected as finalists and the ten respective teams will be given further mentoring.

These ten finalists will then advance to the National Finals tentatively set in November 2015 where they will get the chance to pitch their products directly to funders, industry experts and government representatives. The top three teams will be picked as winners, and thus gain funding and admission to business incubation.

"During the series of startup workshops that we have conducted before, we have seen the skills and potentials of our students all around the country in the field of engineering, computer sciences, and information technology,” said Monchito Ibrahim, deputy executive director of ICT Office.

On the initial run of PSC last year, 51 teams from different colleges and universities all over the country sent their entries. Four out of the top five winners came from outside Metro Manila.
For more information about the Philippine Startup Challenge 2015, contact Karla Legaspi of ICT Office at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 920-0101 loc. 1301 and Karen Reyes of PSIA at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 817-2727 loc. 109, and 0917-9408984.