Three college teams were chosen to represent the Philippines in the first environmentally-friendly vehicle design and marathon competition in Asia to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia next year.

Engineering students from University of Santo Tomas (UST), Mapua Institute of Technology, and Don Bosco Technical College (DBTC) will try at clinching the grand prize award with their version of an eco-friendly vehicle concept prototype in the first Shell Eco-marathon (SEM) Asia.

In a launch held Wednesday in Makati, the three teams were officially introduced as “Team Philippines” to compete with 107 other educational institutions across Asia.

SEM is an educational platform that encourages innovation, reinforces conservation and fosters development of leading technology for greater energy efficiency. The competition, held in Europe for 25 years is now coming to Asia for the first time.

According Shell companies in the Philippines (SciP) Country Chairman Ed Chua, this competition will not only create awareness among the youth on environmental concerns but it will also foster interest among other youth to join the country’s technical talent pool.

“We’re losing our technical superiority and excellence. We hope that this event will inspire the youth to take technical course and create a more diverse technical talent pool,” he said.

“Filipino students can rank on top of the world,” he added.

SEM is open to high schools, colleges, universities and technical institutes. “Team Philippines” will join the “Prototype” category that put each team’s ideas to the test by making futuristic, streamlined vehicles focused on maximizing fuel efficiency through innovative design element.

The marathon is not a race but rather tests the vehicles’ fuel efficiency. Whichever vehicle travel the farthest using the least amount of fuel wins the competition.