CEBU CITY — The IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) recently launched “Can You HackIT,” a nationwide initiative aimed at engaging students in real-world technology challenges.
The program began with a week of mentorship and culminated in a one-day hackathon in Cebu City, gathering 28 teams from 14 academic institutions.
The event was organized through the collaboration of IBPAP president and CEO Jack Madrid and Tech and trustees Ambe Tierro of Accenture and Sanjiv Gupta of IBM’s global delivery center in the Philippines.
The hackathon was designed to connect students with professionals from the tech industry and provide a platform for practical learning and application.
A student team from Silliman University in Dumaguete, named Merge Conflict, won both the top prize and the Best Use of AI award for their project “Bant AI.”
The application aims to monitor and detect harmful online content in real time, providing alerts and emotional context to assist parents in addressing online risks.
Bant AI supports Filipino, Cebuano, and English languages and is intended to help families better understand children’s online experiences.
“We wanted to build something that protects kids before the damage is done and helps parents understand what their children are really experiencing online,” the team explained during their presentation.
The program was supported by industry participants including Accenture, IBM, EY GDS, Lexmark, Carelon, and Philtech, along with academic and local partners Cebu Institute of Technology University (CIT-U), Cebu IT-BPM Organization (CIB.O), and Dito.
With the initial event completed, IBPAP is planning to expand “Can You HackIT” to other regions. Organizers say the Cebu event serves as a working model for future activities in other local tech hubs.
