GRAND Gascon, a 4th-year Chemical Engineering student from the University of the Philippines Visayas, was the lone Filipino selected to join the Bayer’s Youth Agriculture Summit.

He was one of the top 10 and 2 wildcard finalists, besting 2,000 other applicants from nearly a hundred countries composed of undergraduate and graduate students.

Only 100 participants were selected for the event.

“They were supposed to go on an all-expense-paid trip to China for this year’s summit, but the event was held online instead because of the pandemic,” UPV said.

Gascon’s winning pitch is titled “More Light, More Yield” (Light Manipulation to Improve Plant Growth). It aims to redefine the way food is grown.

The UP student said he was originally fascinated by how the filters of Digital Single Lens Reflex Cameras could significantly reduce the amount of sunlight that could get inside the camera sensors.

Gascon thought that if there is a way to reduce the incoming amount of sunlight, then there is also a way to improve it and utilize that method in plant development techniques.

“The delegates were exposed to six months of idea generation and three months of business modeling and business pitching classes. They were then made to pitch their ideas so that they would be narrowed down to 10 finalists,” the university said.

“The top 10 and 2 wildcard finalists pitched again at the final round, and each of the 3 overall winners received 5,000 euros as prize money,” it added.

With this accomplishment, Gascon will receive a brand-new laptop or tablet from the Bayer Foundation.