Winner Announcement for Seeed’s 15th Anniversary Story Sharing

November is around the corner! It’s that time we’ve all been waiting for – the moment we announce the winners of our Seeed 15th Anniversary Story Sharing campaign, where participants had the chance to win a $1000 travel grant to the upcoming Maker Faire Shenzhen event on November 11th and 12th. We were truly overwhelmed by the sheer number of interesting and heartwarming stories that flooded in, making our task of selecting winners an inspiring yet challenging one.

So, without further ado, let’s meet our remarkable winners:

Cesar Jung-Harada

Cesar Jung-Harada, a Japanese-French educator, environmentalist, and Designer, is the founder of Hong Kong’s largest makerspace, MakerBay. Cesar’s passion lies in fostering collaborative innovations for the environment, as well as empowering communities. Cesar has been working with Seeed for more than a decade, and during this time, he has been a driving force in the open hardware community. Cesar’s remarkable projects include the wind-powered sailing robot “Protei”, “Marine Litter Detective” with Ken Chew and Eddie Yung. He has also been an integral part of contests such as IoT2Wild and the 2018 Seeed Earth Day. Recently, he has partnered with Seeed in the development of “Balon Balon Ijo“, a floating solar hydrogen device, trying to remove some of the obstacles to green hydrogen production, experimenting in Bali. Cesar has been a keynote speaker at Maker Faire Shenzhen in previous years we’re excited to hear his updates!

Chirag Sharma

Chirag Sharma, a Senior Analyst at Druk Holding and Investments (DHI) Limited, has been playing a key role in driving digital transformation in Bhutan. DHI serves as the commercial arm of the Royal Government of Bhutan, managing investments for the long-term benefit of the people. Chirag works within the InnoTech Department, responsible for developing technology and innovation strategies, conducting research and development in science and technology, and fostering innovation and employment opportunities for the younger generation.

Chirag has been instrumental in establishing and managing JNWSFL (the Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck Super Fablab), the third Super Fablab in the world. Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Chirag and our team at Seeed Studio and Chaihuo Makerspace conducted numerous exchanges via email and online meetings about the cooperation on the JNWSFL. Apart from that, he works closely with Center for Bits and Atoms at Massachusetts Institute of Technology for collaborative research projects. JNWSFL was in full-swing operation in time, contributing to the success of organizing Fab23 Bhutan, the biggest annual event for the global Fab Lab community. Chirag’s communication and collaboration with Seeed were extended and strengthened during the onsite meetings with our team during Fab23 Bhutan as well as with follow-up communication, especially on the cooperation on utilizing AI and IoT technologies, for STEM education to nurture the future of change-makers in Bhutan, to address regional challenges, upgrade infrastructure, and enhance living standards.

Additionally, Chirag is a featured speaker at this year’s Maker Faire Shenzhen during the ‘Tech for Good’ forum. His session explores the integration of technological innovations within Bhutan’s industries, aiming to promote industrial advancement, sustainability, and overall sector development. Chirag’s multifaceted contributions reflect his commitment to driving positive change and innovation in Bhutan and beyond.

Sachin Soni

Sachin Soni‘s journey with Seeed Studio commenced in 2015 when he embarked on his first IoT internship. Fondly reminiscing about the Grove sensors, he credits them with kickstarting his IoT voyage. Fast-forward to today, Sachin has ascended to the position of India’s top-ranked YouTuber in IoT education, featuring the renowned channel, techiesms. A standout moment in his journey was his encounter with the XIAO ESP32C3 board. His review video for this board not only garnered a remarkable 64k views but also sparked immense interest among his audience.

Furthermore, Sachin has joined forces with Seeed Studio on several exciting projects employing the XIAO ESP32C3 board, including the development of a GPS tracker and the BLE Remote. Techiesms’ YouTube channel boasts a substantial 110k+ subscribers and has accumulated an impressive 10M+ views overall. Techiesms also serves as our unique Indian media partner at Maker Faire Shenzhen, offering an exciting opportunity for your participation in his videos!

Salman Faris

Salman Faris, a computer science graduate with a passion for electronics and hardware product development, boasts a diploma in digital fabrication from Fablab’s renowned “How to Make Almost Anything” academy. His journey is marked by a rich history, having served as an instructor at Fablab Kerala and played a pivotal role as a core organizer for MakerFaire Hyderabad in India. Salman’s active involvement extends to various maker and hardware communities, where his unwavering commitment fuels the development of a thriving makers’ community.

As a prominent Ranger at Seeed Studio since 2018, Salman has consistently engaged with Seeed and shared his extensive knowledge with local communities. He channels his expertise through Seeed wiki co-build, workshops organization, and in-person exhibitions. In the current year, Salman is passionately conducting workshops on tinyML throughout India, leveraging the power of the XIAO ESP32S3 Sense and Edge Impulse. His mission is to empower communities with the remarkable potential of machine learning on embedded devices. For this year’s Maker Faire Shenzhen, Salman is preparing an exciting on-site tinyML workshop that promises to be an engaging and informative experience. Stay tuned for this fantastic opportunity!

Davide Gomba

Davide Gomba, an Italian maker and storyteller, has a deep passion for fostering meaningful conversations on a wide range of subjects, including IoT, STEAM, Domotics, Design Fiction, Agro, and Wearable Tech. As a creative technologist, Davide has a knack for designing experiences that bridge the realms of technology and culture. Some of his notable projects include Fablabforkids, focusing on STEAM education for children and science enthusiasts, Ruralhack, which explores IoT applications in grassroots agriculture, Home Automation inspired by the Casa Jasmina experience, and Industrial IoT collaborations with Seeed Studio.

In collaboration with Seeed, Davide contributed to the development and storytelling of the Hazard Response Mission Pack. This project blends the “IoT Into the Wild” challenge from Seeed in 2022 with the pressing issue of environmental disasters, which are becoming increasingly common and pose a threat to the delicate balance between humans and nature on our shared planet. As a Ranger of Seeed as well as an Italian, Davide designed a kit that monitors specific red flags and patterns across various measurements. The kit is housed in the resilient form factor that SenseCAP S200X provides and was tested on the ground with the community. [Fun Memories: Davide has graced Maker Faire Shenzhen with his presence in 2013 and 2017, and every visit has been filled with incredible experiences and good times!]

Vincent Kok

Vincent Kok, a Technical Trainer at Microsoft based in Singapore, initiated his journey with Seeed back in 2013 when he won an Ethernet shield as a prize in a contest organized by Seeed. His relationship with Seeed continued to evolve when he not only employed Seeed products for his creative projects, including impressive Voice Activated Robo Car, but also actively shared Grove and Arduino Starter Kits with the community, guiding them in hardware usage and spreading knowledge within the open-source community. With the involvement of XIAO, collaboration with Seeed for the news around NVIDIA latest products, and participation in tinyML meetups, Vincent has cemented a closer relationship with Seeed Studio that promises even more exciting developments in the future! [Watch the video about Vincent’s Maker Faire Shenzhen’s Interview]

Mohammad Salah Uddin

Dr. Mohammad Salah Uddin currently serves as an Associate Professor in the Computer Science and Engineering department at East West University in Dhaka, Bangladesh. His journey into the realm of IoT-based projects commenced at the Maker Faire in Rome in 2014, where he encountered a myriad of ingenious smart and automation-based projects. It was during this exploration that he first crossed paths with Seeed Studio, ultimately becoming a Seeed user the following year.

One of Dr. Mohammad’s cherished memories is his participation in the “Seeed for Earth 2018” contest. This unique contest called upon makers to harness the power of Seeed’s products to create projects contributing to environmental protection and promoting sustainability. His winning project, the IoT device “Utility Usages Monitoring and Air Quality Monitoring System,” resulted in a prize package and product that empowered Dr. Mohammad to embark on new projects aimed at making our society a better place. Watch the video to explore more stories.

Pablo Zuloaga Betancourt

“One day, you should strive to have a company like Seeed Studio produce and distribute your project, much like they did with the Smart Citizen.” This prophecy, spoken by the masters at FabLab Barcelona, reached the ears of Pablo Zuloaga Betancourt a couple of years ago. As time marched on, Pablo‘s journey led him to participate in the “IoT2Wild” contest, a quest for IoT ideas dedicated to the protection and preservation of our planet.

As the founder of “POWER STEAM“, Pablo adapted his climate simulator project (using the Wio Terminal) and even organized a workshop at the Lisbon Maker Faire. In July of this year, Pablo took part in a contest hosted by “Seeed Fusion,” further enhancing the capabilities of the Wio Terminal. For Maker Faire Shenzhen, Pablo is set to exhibit his project, POWAR, an acronym for ‘The Plant Observatory of Weather Adaptability for Resilience’ in Booth D16. This innovative climate simulator promises to make a significant impact on us all, allowing users to grow food under future predicted weather for research and experimentation!

Hendra Kusumah

Hendra Kusumah, a dedicated lecturer and faculty member at Universitas Raharja, embarked on his journey with Seeed eight years ago. His initial interaction involved the LinkIt One IoT Development Board, which opened up a world of knowledge and possibilities in connectivity for his IoT projects. His journey with Seeed deepened during the “IoT into the Wild” contest, where he not only gained extensive new knowledge in LoRa, sensor-based TinyML, and blockchain but also formed valuable new friendships in the community. With an impressive 111 submissions, Hendra’s project became the most participated-in contest in Hackster’s history. Hendra’s collaboration with Bali Fab Fest Workshop, using the SenseCAP K1100, has fostered a closer relationship with Seeed Studio, promising remarkable adventures with Hendra on the horizon!

Jacek Ciuba

Jacek Ciuba, a professional DevOps engineer at Bosch and the dedicated caretaker of Mikrobot.pl for the past three years, a venture born out of his fervor for IoT. Jacek’s journey with Seeed began in 2017 during his college years when he purchased his first Raspberry Pi for a unique project—a cocktail machine, a testimony to his passion for electronics. Jacek’s enthusiasm for microcontrollers took him to new heights at Europe’s largest hackathon, HackYeah, in 2020, where he crafted a solution based on the ESP8266. This innovation counted the number of individuals in a room through the Wi-Fi signals emitted by their personal devices. Presently, Jacek is actively involved in expanding industrial k3s clusters using Seeed Studio’s reServer platform.

☘️☘️☘️

We are truly inspired by everyone’s story-sharing, their dedication, innovation, and contributions to the global maker community touched us a lot. Each member has demonstrated a unique passion for technology, a commitment to creating positive change, and a willingness to share their knowledge with others. Their diverse projects, collaborations, and insights exemplify the boundless possibilities within the world of making and open-source technology.

Together, we represent the spirit of collaboration, pushing the boundaries of innovation, and driving progress towards a brighter, more interconnected future. Their stories are a testament to the power of community and the limitless potential that arises when individuals come together to make a difference!

See you at Maker Faire Shenzhen 2023 in November!

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