KINGSTON, Jamaica — What started as a high school idea born from family struggle has matured into a million-dollar breakthrough. Angel Pinnock, a third-year Computer Science student at the University of Technology (UTech), has clinched the top prize at the 2025 UTech/Sagicor Innovation Challenge for her groundbreaking project, Flood Sense—a tech-based system tackling one of Jamaica’s most persistent threats: urban flooding.
But this isn’t just another student competition win—it’s a wake-up call for a country where gully overflows have become a deadly routine.
At the heart of Flood Sense is a fusion of real-time data collection, IoT sensors, and predictive analytics. The system doesn’t just react to floods—it anticipates them. By monitoring gully levels and waste accumulation, the platform empowers local authorities to act before disaster strikes. Supporting the tech is Gully Guard, a street-level device that captures waste before it clogs waterways.
“We don’t have a flood problem—we have a garbage problem,” Pinnock said bluntly. “This is about prevention, not cleanup.”
For Pinnock, this isn’t abstract policy talk. Her grandfather’s business was built above a gully and was repeatedly threatened by floodwaters. That lived experience became the blueprint for innovation.
Youth-led Innovation, Investor-Ready Solutions
Unlike past events where ideas often fade post-pitch, this year’s Innovation Challenge focused on market viability. According to the organisers, several entries—including Pinnock’s—have already drawn interest from private backers.
“We’re seeing investors lean in earlier, looking to fund pre-revenue tech with real social value,” noted Ray St Michael Williams, director of the Sagicor Innovation Lab at UTech.
Not Just Angel’s Day
Second place went to Team Blue Print for Street Guard, a smart surveillance grid powered by AI and LiDAR to identify urban threats in real-time.
Third place was awarded to Team Jana for One Stop Ja, an app designed to reduce wait times and congestion in the public transport system through live tracking and passenger data.
A Moment of Shift
While most national discussions around flooding remain stuck on drainage budgets and emergency clean-ups, Pinnock’s work points to a different narrative: one where technology, not tradition, leads the charge.
“If the government wants a resilient Jamaica, it starts by backing solutions that come from lived experience,” she said. “We can’t keep throwing money at floods while ignoring what causes them.”
With her win now public and funding doors starting to open, Angel Pinnock isn’t just a student anymore—she’s a systems thinker poised to change how a nation handles its most pressing threats.
