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Out of ten teams from the region, two teams from the University of Southern Mindanao (USM) earned major wins at the AI Bayanihan Challenge 2025, held on November 14 at the Regional Science Research Center in MSU–General Santos City.
The competition began with Quest 1, where more than 8,000 students from across Region XII took part. For Quest 2, these students formed teams of five and were tasked to create their own innovations. After evaluations, ten teams qualified for the final stage. These finalists then pitched their projects face-to-face during Quest 3.
Comcarta, a team of USM BS Computer Engineering students—Rodolfo Estimada II, Ken Rodolph Lim, Jostem Carl Sunio, and Charles Kenji Lapuz—took home the championship title. Their project, Comcyclopedia, is an AI-powered study companion that creates interactive mind maps and turns complex lessons into simple, easy-to-follow guides. With the guidance of their mentor, Engr. Melecio A. Cordero Jr., the team won the ₱50,000 grand prize.
Meanwhile, Lumo earned 2nd Runner-Up with their project EduAID, an AI-driven personalized learning platform that offers diagnostic tests and builds custom learning paths for each student. The team is made up of USM BS Computer Science students Zaldy Mar Ybañez, Zyron Rayver Duque, Ej Faye Dulay, Angelo Eramis, and Divine Angela Bacol. With support from their coach, Prof. Ryan Gonzaga, they brought home ₱20,000 for their creative and meaningful solution.
The competition started with Quest 1 with over 8,000 students who joined from all over Region XII. For Quest 2, These students were instructed to create an innovation in groups with five members per team. Out of these groups, assessment were conducted to check of who qualifies. The teams (10) who qualified pitched their innovations face-to-face, that’s Quest 3.
The event brought together students, educators, startups, and AI enthusiasts from across Region XII to explore how Generative AI is shaping education, careers, and innovation.
Participants got hands-on with practical AI tools, tried real-world use cases, and learned how to use AI responsibly and ethically through a three-part competition: the AI Literacy Quest, a gamified way to learn GenAI concepts; the Prototype Build-a-thon, where teams worked together to develop AI-powered solutions; and the Regional AI Summit and Expo, where finalists showcased their projects live to a panel of judges and stakeholders.
As part of the event’s highlights, a Fireside Chat was held with Mr. Ronald Jones S. Hinay, Ms. Giselle Eve O. Siladan, Consortium Director of SICAD-SOX, and Dr. Jalaloden B. Marohom, Project Leader of USMart TBI.
They talked about the importance of raising ethical, future-ready Filipino innovators and stressed how teamwork among HEIs, SUCs, and TBIs helps boost AI adoption and supports regional innovation.
With the theme “Bayanihan for SDG 4: From AI Literacy to Local Impact,” the activity was organized by Techedify in partnership with DOST XII, DICT XII, EVFI EntrePinoy, ICEBOX TBI, and USMart TBI.
