WVSU - College of Information and Communications Technology

𝗪𝗩𝗦𝗨-𝗖𝗜𝗖𝗧 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘆 𝗚𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝗛𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗜 𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁 2026

𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 - 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 (𝐖𝐕𝐒𝐔-𝐂𝐈𝐂𝐓) reaffirmed its position as a center of research excellence and innovation after its faculty researchers secured top awards at the 2026 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐈 𝐅𝐞𝐬𝐭, underscoring the college's growing contributions to artificial intelligence, applied research, and technological advancement.

At the AI Technical Conference, 𝐌𝐫. 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐃𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐄𝐥𝐢𝐣𝐚𝐡 𝐁. 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐠 earned 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 in the 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐏𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 category for his study, “TALAAN: A Framework for Offline Multi-Tier Retrieval-Augmented Generation in Philippine Local Government Document Intelligence.” Mr. Sandig introduced a practical AI framework designed to strengthen records management in local government units, demonstrating how emerging technologies can be harnessed to address real-world governance challenges and improve public service delivery.

Adding to the college's achievements, 𝐃𝐫. 𝐍𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐞 𝐉𝐨 𝐄. 𝐃𝐞𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐨 secured 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 for his research entitled “Monocular Depth-Based Thoracic Morphology Analysis for Non-Invasive Pectus Excavatum Assessment.” The study highlighted the transformative potential of artificial intelligence in healthcare, offering an innovative and accessible approach to medical assessment and diagnosis.

Meanwhile, 𝐃𝐫. 𝐂𝐲𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐨 𝐒. 𝐃𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐬 also presented his research poster entitled “Adaptive Object Detection with Confidence-Gated Early Exits for Energy-Constrained Road Perception,” which explored efficient AI-driven solutions for intelligent transportation and road safety systems.

The outstanding performance of WVSU-CICT faculty reflects the college's commitment to advancing knowledge, fostering innovation, and producing research with meaningful societal impact. Through groundbreaking studies that address challenges in governance, healthcare, and technology, WVSU-CICT continues to cultivate future-ready solutions that contribute to national development and digital transformation.

𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗪𝗩𝗦𝗨-𝗖𝗜𝗖𝗧𝘇𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗜 𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁 2026

Innovation, creativity, and technical excellence took center stage as CICTzens delivered an outstanding performance at the 2026 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐈 𝐅𝐞𝐬𝐭, earning championship titles and finalist recognitions across robotics, hackathon, filmmaking, and game development competitions.

In the 𝐀𝐈 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, the fourth-year BSCS team 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐍𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐬 emerged as 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧 with 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐨𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝, a robotics-based solution designed to support smarter and more efficient agricultural practices. The team was composed of 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐀. 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐧, 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐆. 𝐁𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐫, 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐉𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝐋. 𝐁𝐮ñ𝐚𝐠, 𝐕𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐋. 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐞𝐬 𝐉𝐫., 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐉𝐚𝐧 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐝 𝐉. 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐚, under the mentorship of 𝐌𝐫. 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐡 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐬. Meanwhile, 𝐇𝐀𝐈-5, composed of 𝐀𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥 𝐆𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐰𝐢𝐧, 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐄𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚, 𝐉𝐨𝐞𝐥𝐦𝐚𝐫 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚, 𝐀𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐨 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐨 𝐒𝐮𝐚 𝐈𝐈𝐈, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐳, and mentored by 𝐃𝐫. 𝐄𝐯𝐚𝐧 𝐂. 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐨, advanced as 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 with 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐐𝐏𝐇, an AI-powered autonomous robotic system designed for post-disaster surveillance and disaster risk reduction efforts.

CICTzens also demonstrated their strength in innovation through the 𝐀𝐈 𝐇𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐧 - 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐲. 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐁𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢, composed of BSIS alumni 𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐰 𝐂. 𝐃𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐨, 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐆𝐚𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐥 𝐁. 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐨𝐧, 𝐆𝐢𝐨 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐀. 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐬, 𝐉𝐞𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫 𝐕. 𝐏𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐂. 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐥, secured as 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧 with 𝐏𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐦 𝐖𝐚𝐤𝐞, a maritime intelligence system that uses AI to predict search corridors for dark vessels and enhance maritime monitoring.

Among the finalists were 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐒𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞ñ𝐚𝐬, composed of 𝐋𝐲𝐤𝐚 𝐑. 𝐋𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐫𝐨, 𝐌𝐚𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐂. 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧, 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐜𝐞 𝐃. 𝐀𝐫𝐝𝐞ñ𝐚, 𝐋𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐚 𝐑𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐃. 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚𝐡 𝐋𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐅. 𝐅𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐳, whose project 𝐀𝐪𝐮𝐀𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐧 utilized coastal intelligence technology to support risk classification and patrol prioritization in Northern Iloilo coastal areas. Also earning finalist recognition was 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐊𝐚𝐝𝐣𝐚, composed of 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐡 𝐉𝐚𝐞 𝐁. 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚, 𝐀𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐧 𝐁. 𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐳𝐚, 𝐃𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐎. 𝐃𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐨, 𝐉𝐚𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐬 𝐉. 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐧, and 𝐊𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐘𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐡𝐧 𝐀. 𝐀𝐥𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐧, for 𝐀𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑, an AI-powered system focused on environmental monitoring, threat evaluation, and ecosystem resilience.

In 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐀𝐈, where artificial intelligence meets digital storytelling, the fourth-year BSCS team 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐔𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐉 held as 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧 with the short film 𝐈𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐲𝐨𝐧 𝐍𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐨 𝐍𝐮𝐞𝐛𝐞. The film was created by 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐬, 𝐉𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨 𝐑𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐩, 𝐉𝐨𝐞𝐥𝐦𝐚𝐫 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚, 𝐉𝐚𝐳𝐲𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐨, and 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐉𝐨𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚, showcasing the creative potential of AI-enhanced filmmaking. Meanwhile, 𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐦𝐬, composed of 𝐀𝐬𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐍𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐨𝐥𝐨, 𝐀𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥 𝐆𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐰𝐢𝐧, 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐥𝐥 𝐊𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐲𝐳𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐧, 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐧 𝐕𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐮𝐞𝐥, and 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐄𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐨, earned a 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 distinction for their 𝐁𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐀𝐘𝐀𝐖: 𝐀 𝐕𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐬, a film that explored storytelling through the integration of emerging AI tools and digital creativity.

The college's creative and technical talents were further recognized in 𝐀𝐈 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐎𝐧, a competition that combined artificial intelligence, cultural preservation, and interactive media. 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐇𝐮𝐞𝐬, composed of 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐥𝐚 𝐃. 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚, 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐳 𝐆𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐂. 𝐄𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐠𝐚, and 𝐃𝐢𝐨𝐬𝐲𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐍𝐢ñ𝐚 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐑. 𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫, advanced as finalists with 𝐆𝐢𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐰𝐚, an interactive game experience inspired by culture and community narratives. Likewise, 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐞 𝐂𝐨., composed of 𝐀𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥 𝐂. 𝐆𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐰𝐢𝐧, 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐄𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚, and 𝐌𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐳, was spart of the finalist for their 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐳ó𝐧, a game that blends AI-driven experiences with local culture and storytelling.

These success across multiple competition categories highlights CICTzens’ ability to cultivate innovative minds capable of translating technical knowledge into practical, creative, and socially relevant solutions. Through robotics, artificial intelligence, digital storytelling, and game development, they demonstrated the breadth of their talent and their readiness to contribute to an increasingly technology-driven future.

Congratulations, CICTzens!
Congratulations, Taga West!

🏆 Congratulations to Mr. Shem Durst Elijah B. Sandig of West Visayas State University, the 1st Prize Winner of the AI Technical Conference – Research Competition!

Your research, "TALAAN: A Framework for Offline Multi-Tier Retrieval-Augmented Generation in Philippine Local Government Document Intelligence," is a remarkable contribution to AI-driven innovation and public service. May this achievement inspire you to continue advancing research that creates meaningful impact.

Congratulations on your well-deserved success!