A TEAM from Ateneo de Manila Senior High School claimed the Senior High School Championship in the Industrial Engineering Expo Praxis Case Competition held earlier this month.

Competing as Team IExengenium, the group—composed of Basti Dela Cruz, Liz Estanislao, Andrea Mangubat, Chelsea Temprosa, and Adrien Zafra—emerged as champions with their innovation “Torre Kubo,” a low-cost, mechanically simplified vertical farming system designed for urban growers.

Their concept, inspired by vertical farming towers, emphasizes sustainability, affordability, and accessibility, aiming to help small-scale farmers increase productivity despite limited space and resources.

The IEx Praxis Case Competition, an annual initiative organized by Industrial Engineering students of UP Diliman, challenges senior high school teams to apply systems thinking, feasibility studies, and sustainability modeling to real-world socio-economic issues.

This year’s focus was on urban farmers in parts of Quezon City, tackling issues such as land insecurity and unstable income. Finalists pitched implementable, data-driven solutions before academic and industry judges following an initial online round on January 12, 2026.

Selected to represent Ateneo Senior High School, Team IExengenium received a ₱10,000 prize for presenting the most feasible proposal and expressed gratitude for the opportunity to engage directly with stakeholders and the industrial engineering community.