A FACULTY from the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) in Ilocos Norte and his co-author won the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (UN SDG) pitch competition in Thailand and will represent the Asian Institute Technology (AIT) for this year's SDG Olympiad in Paris, France. Instructor Johnmel Valerozo of the MMSU Department of Food Science and Technology and his partner Ranjit Singh won the first prize in the SDG pitch competition AIT-SDG Summer School held from August 29 to 30 at the AIT Entrepreneurship Center, Pathum Thani. With the theme, "Health and Wellness, Innovations for Impact," the AIT-SDG Summer School serves as a platform for crafting and presenting scalable solutions aligned with the UN SDG on good health and well-being. Francis Batara of the MMSU Office of Strategic Communication said Valerozo, who is pursuing a Master of Science in Food Innovation, Nutrition and Health at AIT, and Singh, a candidate for Doctor of Philosophy in Food Engineering and Bioprocess Technology at AIT, presented their proposal on plant-based probiotic milk that targets a healthy gut and mind. Upon receiving the award, Valerozo expressed his thanks, "I feel thrilled and blessed. I'm excited about the opportunity to see our product move toward commercialization and positively impact young people's health." Joining Valerozo and Singh was Professor Anil Kumar Anal, chairman of the Food Innovation Nutrition and Health Academic Program, who served as their mentor. Batara said the group was awarded 1,500 euros as a cash incentive. The global competition on September 25 and 26 focuses on team-based projects and challenge-based innovations, particularly on the environment and health.