Mindanao Natural Language Processing Research and Development Laboratory

👩🏻‍💻 𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗡𝗢𝗪: Where Ink Meets Code: A Journey into NLP Research 🐍✨

Charlese is now taking us through her journey into Natural Language Processing—sharing how curiosity, creativity, and code come together to preserve language in the digital world.

From Python experiments to machine translation, this is where stories meet tech 💜

In Partnership with:
Girl Up Davao
Python Software Foundation

𝗟𝗲𝘁'𝘀 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗠𝗶𝘅𝗲𝗿 👩🏻‍💼🌸

Talks are great, but this is where the real connection happens. 💜

We're setting aside time at Python Girl Boss: Thriving in Tech for a Mentorship Mixer, a space to sit down, ask questions, and have the kinds of conversations that actually move your career forward.

Whether you're looking for guidance, ready to give back, or just want to meet other women navigating the same tech journey—come find your people. No pressure, no awkward networking scripts. Just genuine connection over shared experiences. 🙇🏻‍♀️

📅 March 29, 2026
⏰ 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM
📍 Venue: New Mugna Tech Office
https://maps.app.goo.gl/zKHqiYjbABVm5EnD6

🐍 𝗣𝗿𝗲-𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeukM5gQNx1g3EppDToUnznc7PaUiq-HpmXnPUjpjC2BjZ5Lw/viewform

In Partnership with:
Girl Up Davao
Python Software Foundation

Catch our senior student researcher, Ms. CJ Te, as she shares her NLP journey during the Python Girl Boss: Thriving in Tech event of DurianPy - Davao Python User Group!

We are proud of you, CJ! 🥳

🌸 𝓒𝓮𝓵𝓮𝓫𝓻𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓦𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓷. 𝓟𝓻𝓮𝓼𝓮𝓻𝓿𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓒𝓾𝓵𝓽𝓾𝓻𝓮. 𝓡𝓮𝔀𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓞𝓾𝓻 𝓓𝓲𝓰𝓲𝓽𝓪𝓵 𝓟𝓻𝓮𝓼𝓮𝓷𝓬𝓮. 🌸

In celebration of Women’s Month, we are excited to launch “𝐖𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐀𝐈”—a meaningful initiative that brings together passionate women committed to preserving and revitalizing our rich cultural heritage, offering three Wikimedia-powered initiatives, open to both men and women who share the same advocacy, that aim to rewrite Davao’s presence on the global internet, live and in real time:

💜 WikiWomen Davao
📷 WikiCoversPH Davao
🌙 WikiNights (Davao’s first-ever!)

These initiatives will empower volunteers to create and improve Wikipedia articles, upload culturally significant images to Wikimedia Commons, and document the people, heritage, and untold stories of our region, many of which remain underrepresented online

🗓️ This March 25, the University of the Immaculate Conception, with MinNa LProc, College of Computer Studies (CCS), and College of Arts and Humanities (CAH), in partnership with Shared Knowledge Asia Pacific.

𝙍𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙣𝙤𝙬:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScP3ETBjaBM326zF7NjBZ2C6b2bD9uSek53s9epB2rc4Okb1A/viewform

𝙅𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝙪𝙨 𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙚 𝙗𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙡𝙚𝙙𝙜𝙚, 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝘿𝙖𝙫𝙖𝙤 𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙: 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙩 𝙖 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚.

🌸 𝓒𝓮𝓵𝓮𝓫𝓻𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓦𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓷. 𝓟𝓻𝓮𝓼𝓮𝓻𝓿𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓒𝓾𝓵𝓽𝓾𝓻𝓮. 𝓡𝓮𝔀𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓞𝓾𝓻 𝓓𝓲𝓰𝓲𝓽𝓪𝓵 𝓟𝓻𝓮𝓼𝓮𝓷𝓬𝓮. 🌸

In celebration of Women’s Month, we are excited to launch “𝐖𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐀𝐈”—a meaningful initiative that brings together passionate women committed to preserving and revitalizing our rich cultural heritage, offering three Wikimedia-powered initiatives, open to both men and women who share the same advocacy, that aim to rewrite Davao’s presence on the global internet, live and in real time:

💜 WikiWomen Davao
📷 WikiCoversPH Davao
🌙 WikiNights (Davao’s first-ever!)

These initiatives will empower volunteers to create and improve Wikipedia articles, upload culturally significant images to Wikimedia Commons, and document the people, heritage, and untold stories of our region, many of which remain underrepresented online

🗓️ This March 25, the University of the Immaculate Conception, with MinNa LProc, College of Computer Studies (CCS), and College of Arts and Humanities (CAH), in partnership with Shared Knowledge Asia Pacific.

𝙍𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙣𝙤𝙬:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScP3ETBjaBM326zF7NjBZ2C6b2bD9uSek53s9epB2rc4Okb1A/viewform?usp=preview

𝙅𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝙪𝙨 𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙚 𝙗𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙡𝙚𝙙𝙜𝙚, 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝘿𝙖𝙫𝙖𝙤 𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙: 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙩 𝙖 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚.

We were truly honored to have Mr. Ned Palacios, a Software Engineer at BetterTeam and a proud Computer Science alumnus of the UIC College of Computer Studies, join us for a special brown-bag session where he generously shared his knowledge and industry experience in Web Development.

Our interns and 3rd-year Computer Science students had the opportunity to deepen their understanding of React, exploring practical insights and the real-world intricacies of modern web development. Sessions like this continue to inspire our students to sharpen their skills and bridge classroom learning with industry practice.

Daghang salamat, Sir Ned, for giving back to the community and empowering the next generation of developers! 🙌🚀

🧠 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐓𝐢𝐤𝐓𝐨𝐤 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭?

During today’s Brown-Bag-Session, facilitated by 𝐌𝐬. 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐄𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐚, we explored how platforms like TikTok learn almost instantaneously from user interactions—every scroll, pause, like, and replay becoming valuable signals for recommendation systems.

What makes this even more interesting is how these systems rely on techniques commonly used in Natural Language Processing (NLP). At the heart of it are embeddings—mathematical representations that allow machines to understand relationships between words, users, and content. Just as NLP models represent words and sentences in vector spaces, recommendation systems represent user preferences and content features in high-dimensional embeddings, enabling platforms to quickly learn patterns and deliver highly personalized recommendations.

Another great session of learning, curiosity, and discovery as we unpacked how the same principles used in NLP research also power the algorithms shaping our everyday digital experiences. 🚀

We showcased our NLP-powered applications at the —demonstrating how language technology can help preserve Philippine languages and build AI solutions that truly serve communities.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth and explored the future of inclusive and socially responsive AI. 🚀

𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗫𝗜 𝗛𝗘𝗜𝘀 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗗 𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗦𝗘 𝗘𝘅𝗵𝗶𝗯𝗶𝘁

Three Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) from Region XI participated in the CHED RAISE (Responding AI Through Societal Empowerment) exhibits, highlighting the Davao Region’s contributions to innovation and emerging technologies in higher education.

The participating institutions — University of the Immaculate Conception (UIC), University of Southeastern Philippines (USeP), and Davao del Sur State College (DSSC)—presented their institutional initiatives, research outputs, and best practices that promote academic innovation and the integration of artificial intelligence in education.
Their participation reflects Region XI’s strong commitment to advancing quality, technology-driven, and future-ready higher education aligned with national development goals.

𝑫𝒊𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑮𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒆𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒚 𝑨𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏 “𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏”? 📉🤖

During our Brown-Bag Session, led by our intern, Mr. Jericho Opsima, we dove into the foundations of machine learning through the powerful concept of Gradient Descent — the algorithm that helps models improve step by step.

From understanding cost functions to exploring learning rates and optimization, the session unpacked how AI systems gradually adjust, minimize errors, and get better over time. What may seem like complex mathematics turned into an engaging discussion filled with questions and insights. 💡✨

After an enriching exchange of ideas, the afternoon concluded with our usual community food-sharing, strengthening both our knowledge and our connections. 🍽️✨

Grateful for learning spaces that blend theory, curiosity, and community.

🚀

𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐫𝐚𝐰 𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐠𝐚 𝐏𝐮𝐬𝐨! 🩷