Among over 240 contingents from across Southeast Asia, two cohorts from the College of Computer Studies (CCS) of Naga College Foundation, Inc. (NCF) were acclaimed as semi-finalists in the official Top 40 shortlist of the prestigious ASEAN AI Hackathon 2026, the organizer Passage to ASEAN International (P2A) announced via an online conference on May 29, 2026.
Advancing their excellence in technology-driven innovation, Team NCF-ApexNode cemented an outstanding 8.471 average score while Team NCF-AmberWave marked an impressive 8.14 average score—a double feat that secured competitive spots against over 240 ASEAN institutes and universities vying across the challenge categories of Climate Change Resilience, Public Health and Telemedicine, Smart City, and AI for Education.
According to P2A, the official entries were evaluated based on four strict criteria: Technical Execution (30%), Impact and Feasibility (30%), Innovation and Originality (25%), and Presentation and Demo (15%).
Team NCF-ApexNode—composed of John Paul A. Cambiado, Daniel Q. Bonito, Francine M. De La Torre, and Karl Vincent C. Suayan—presented under the Climate Change Resilience category the ‘SentryMesh,’ an alternative communication system for various weather phenomena.
Competing under the AI for Education category, Elmer Jovit O. Mailom, Princess Hannah Mae N. Bio, and Kurt Basti B. Tacorda—collectively known as Team NCF-AmberWave—developed ‘LexiAdapt,’ an AI-powered learning solution designed to make education inclusive and adaptive to individual student needs.
“In the coming weeks, teams will further develop their solutions, receive expert guidance, and refine their ideas as they prepare for the Semi-Final and Final Rounds,” P2A stated in a website article published on June 4, 2026.
Having secured their spots in the Top 40, the two advancing teams are now moving forward to construct functional prototypes of their proposed systems.
On June 2, 2026, the NCF semi-finalists immersed themselves in a virtual workshop on ‘Innovation Pitching and Scalability’ where they gained practical perspectives to further refine their projects and strengthen their preparation for the upcoming stages of the competition.
Meanwhile, the institution also recognized three other teams that participated in the regional hackathon: Team NCF-UrbanTwin showcased ‘UrbanPulse’ (Smart City category); Team NCF-TigrisMind presented ‘MindProwl’ (Public Health and Telemedicine category); and Team NCF-Unauthorized 404 introduced ‘AralEase’ (AI for Education category).
NCF delegates were guided by the expertise of Mr. John Roy V. Galvez, CCS Technology Business Incubator (TBI) Coordinator, with the full support of Dr. Anna Loretta C. Romulo, CCS Dean.
As representatives of both NCF and the Philippines, this historic feat demonstrates that NCeans’ technological wit to harness generative tools, blended with core theoretical competencies, is pivotal to addressing real-world challenges and fostering global resilience and sustainability.
The ASEAN AI Hackathon 2026 aims to develop a clear understanding of human-centric AI, identify and frame regional civic challenges, and mobilize impactful and practical AI solutions led by P2A—an ASEAN-recognized entity promoting cultural appreciation, workforce development, symposiums, and research collaboration through cross-border mobility powered by ASEAN youth.
From the Top 40 semi-finalists, P2A will narrow the shortlist down to the Top 8 finalists who will fly to Da Nang, Vietnam, to compete in the grand finale this July 2026.