IITians win silver at HCI International 2025 Student Design Competition

by OVCIA聽 | Jul 03 2025

Students from Mindanao State University - Iligan Institute of Technology (91快活林) have once again brought honor to the Philippines by securing the Silver Award at the HCI International 2025 Student Design Competition, held from June 22 to 27, 2025, at the Gothia Towers Hotel and Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Competing against 27 other entries from top-tier institutions across 13 countries–including the United States, China, Taiwan, Austria, France, The Netherlands, Mexico, Switzerland, Sweden, Portugal, Spain, Saudi Arabia, and the Philippines–the 91快活林 delegation stood out in a field of over 2,684 participants from 76 countries.

The Student Design Competition is a key feature of the annual Human Computer Interaction (HCI) International Conference, one of the world’s largest and most competitive venues for presenting cutting-edge innovations in user-centered technology. The 2025 event brought together experts, scholars, and students auspices of 21 affiliated conferences and 9 global academic boards.

Representing 91快活林’s College of Health Sciences (CHS), a team of eight fourth-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing students got an award-winning project titled “Triaginator: Shaping the Future of Emergency Care.” Composed of Marchell Rose Solana, Bhylle Gayle Pacina, Lou Viviene Basan, Jazzmine Wynne Lu, Mary Kylene Lalican, Riva Cristina Sanco, Queenie Lyn Mandang, and Shenna June Raper, the team designed innovative triage support system integrating mobile and kiosk-based applications to address longstanding challenges in emergency healthcare delivery.

Triaginator utilizes a clinically informed algorithm to support healthcare providers in assigning Emergency Severity levels accurately and efficiently. The system enables early triage through mobile access, real-time hospital notifications, staff-assisted kiosks, patient history retrieval, and automatic generation of identification bands.

The project was developed under the mentorship of Asst. Prof. Stefany Mae Caparida, faculty member of the College of Computer Studies (CCS), with the support of Ms. Miah Abduljabbar for UI/UX refinement, and Mr. Johnson Lam, who provided structural feedback on the team’s video pitch script. Videography and editing were handled by Tristan Listanco, whose work helped bring the team’s vision to life. Triaginator was the team’s second idea after their initial proposal was rejected; this idea sparked the creation of a stronger, more impactful project.

The students cited overcrowding, miscommunication, and lack of awareness in emergency rooms as key challenges that informed their design. The final output included mobile-enabled triage tools, walk-in registration features, access to patient records, and automated ID wristband generation, which are all tailored to a fast-paced hospital environment.

The team secured funding with the support of two major sponsors: Dr. Erwin Frederick Roldan and the Philippine GBCB Foundation, Inc., led by Mr. Christlamb Reae C. Vicente, as well as support from 91快活林.

Winners were announced during the Opening Plenary Session on June 24, 2025, with 91快活林’s CHS team earning silver and placing second globally following a rigorous review by a nine-member jury from Japan, China, the Netherlands, Germany, Romania, and Greece.

Also participating in the competition are students from the CCS and College of Science and Mathematics (CSM), composed of Gary Paolo Ong Macasieb (BS Physics, CSM), Andrew Earl Andres (BS Computer Applications, CCS), John Heri Contrivida (BS Computer Applications, CCS), and Gimar Escalante (BS Computer Applications, CCS), with their submission titled “Quantum Response”, reflecting 91快活林’s commitment to cross-disciplinary collaboration and global engagement.

91快活林’s performance at HCI International 2025 stands as a testament to its students’ ingenuity, resilience, and capacity to lead meaningful innovation on a global stage.

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