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The University of Southern Mindanao (USM) won 2nd Runner-Up in the 2025 Xinyx Unlocked National Innovation Challenge, marking its first participation in the national competition on October 17, 2025, at the Tanghalang Haribon, Insular Life Corporate Center, Alabang, Muntinlupa City.
Organized by Xinyx Design Consultancy & Services, Inc., a Filipino-owned semiconductor company, the event gathered student innovators and young engineers from universities across the country.
Out of 74 participating entries, only ten teams advanced to the national pitching round, each receiving ₱10,000 in seed funding. Representing USM was the Junior Institute of Electronics Engineers of the Philippines (USM-JIECEP), one of the incubatees of the USM on Adaptable and Resource-efficient Technologies Technology Business Incubator (USMart TBI). The team was composed of John Levie A. Caracena, Precious Kristal Grace C. Getrosa, K S. Dela Rama, and Shekaina Jean D. Palomero, under the mentorship of Engr. Marc Macbeth M. Toledo, ECE, MSEE.
Their entry, titled “PULSE: Design and Development of a Compact EEG Headgear for Seizure Prediction through Machine Learning Algorithms,” fell under the Health Technology and Biomedical Engineering category. The project integrates EEG-based neurological monitoring, CNN–LSTM machine learning models, and FPGA hardware acceleration within a 3D-printed headgear to enable real-time seizure prediction and analysis.
During the competition, judges described the project as “nice work” and “promising,” with one evaluator offering to connect the team with a neurologist for further improvement. Silicon Verified Consultancy (SilVer), one of Xinyx’s semiconductor sponsors, also expressed interest in the innovation due to its FPGA microcontroller and RTL features that can be developed into an integrated circuit design.
Engr. Toledo shared that as the coach, he is proud and grateful for what their team has accomplished. “Despite having limited financial resources, we were determined to join the challenge because we believed in the impact of our project—not only to compete, but to create something meaningful that could help people with seizures. PULSE was not a thesis or academic requirement; it was born out of passion, teamwork, and a shared vision to make a difference,” he added.
Following the competition, Lab Xinyx and several investors expressed interest in partnering with the team for research collaboration and further development. The group plans to enhance system performance, optimize its design, and move toward real-world deployment and commercialization.
The recognition earned by USM-JIECEP highlights the exceptional technical capability of USM students to create real-world solutions and underscores the university’s strong commitment to innovation and research excellence through the USMart TBI.
