UST Students Win Tech Award for Reducing Food Waste in Singapore
Singapore, Monday, 21 April 2025.
The UST-CICS team earned accolades at EDUtech Asia 2024 for ‘Stray Surplus,’ an app that intelligently directs surplus food to animal shelters, enhancing sustainability efforts.
Transformative Technological Solution
The ‘Stray Surplus’ app, developed by a team of students from the University of Santo Tomas College of Information and Computing Sciences (UST-CICS), introduces a groundbreaking method to combat food waste and enhance animal welfare. Utilizing advanced technologies like Google AI and Gemini AI, the app assesses surplus food for safety and suitability for animals. Moreover, it employs the Google Maps API to efficiently connect food donors with animal shelters [1].
Innovation and Environmental Impact
By leveraging these cutting-edge technological tools, the ‘Stray Surplus’ app ensures that excess food resources are redirected to local animal shelters instead of being wasted. This approach not only reduces food wastage but also supports animal welfare, aligning with the U.N. Sustainable Development Goal 12 that advocates for responsible consumption and production [1].
Recognition at EDUtech Asia 2024
Their innovative project won the prestigious Best Use of Technology Award at the EDUtech Asia 2024 Planet Protector Sustainability Challenge, held in November 2024 at Marina Bay Sands Expo in Singapore. Competing in the Higher Education Institutions League, the UST team stood out among participants from the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, demonstrating the promising impact of tech-driven solutions on sustainability [1].
Supporting Responsible Consumption
This pioneering app exemplifies UST-CICS’s commitment to promoting socially responsible technological solutions. By facilitating the efficient use of leftover food, ‘Stray Surplus’ reduces the environmental burden caused by food waste, thus fostering sustainability. The app also provides a blueprint for future innovations aiming to balance technological advancement with environmental responsibility [1].