UM-RIC Sends UM Digos to AMBIT 2026, ProWESS Secures Second Place in Commercial Video Competition
The University of Mindanao through its Research and Innovation Center`s UMasenso Hub and Innovation and Technology Support Office (ITSO) sent UM Digos College to AMBIT 2026 (Advancing and Mobilizing Breakthrough Innovations) held on August 27, 2026, at Caraga State University. Three teams participated with the different competitions and among them, Project ProWESS (Provincial Workforce Enabling System thru Scholarships) emerged as second-place winner in the Commercial Video Competition, bringing recognition to UM’s continuing efforts to develop technology-driven solutions that respond to real-world challenges.
Representing ProWESS was Mr. Eduard L. Pulvera, Project Staff and QMO Assistant Manager of UM Digos, with assistance from Mr. Arthurbonn Mapula, DTPs Office Assistant. Developed under the DOST-PCIEERD GODDESS Program and led by Dr. John Vianne B. Murcia, ProWESS is a digital platform developed by UM Digos College in partnership with the Provincial Capitol of Davao del Sur and the Public Employment Service Office (PESO). The project brings together a mobile application for scholars and a web-based platform for government, creating a more connected and efficient system for scholarship administration and workforce-related services. Its recognition at AMBIT 2026 underscores how innovations developed within the academe can move beyond the laboratory and become practical solutions for public service.
Joining ProWESS in representing UM were Project e4PsMap, represented by its System Programmer Mr. John Raven Manulat, and Project SINAG, represented by Mr. Ralph Ian Noynay. The Electronic 4Ps Map (e4PsMap) is a digital visualization and data dashboard system designed to help local governments monitor the compliance rates and progress of beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). Meanwhile, SINAG—SGLGB Insights Nurturing Assessments and Governance is a web-based assessment and analytics application designed to assist barangays in assessing their performance under the Seal of Good Local Governance for Barangays (SGLGB), with its initial application supporting the barangays of Sulop.
Together, the three entries showcased UM’s growing portfolio of digital innovations for governance, social protection, and community development.
The UM delegation was also accompanied by the UMasenso and Innovation and Technology Support Office (ITSO) teams, represented by Engr. Jetron Adtoon and Mr. Kit Benjo Dumancas, respectively. Their participation reflected the collaborative ecosystem behind UM’s innovation initiatives—where project developers, technical personnel, technology-transfer advocates, and institutional support units work together to move ideas toward utilization and impact.
More than a competition, AMBIT 2026 became a platform for UM to demonstrate that breakthrough innovations are not measured only by technological novelty, but by their capacity to address actual needs and create meaningful value for communities and public institutions.
ProWESS’s second-place finish is therefore more than a competition result. It is a testament to the potential of research, technology, and innovation to become solutions that are felt beyond the university. Through ProWESS, e4PsMap, and SINAG, UM Digos continues to demonstrate a clear direction: developing innovations that do not remain as ideas on paper, but are transformed into working systems that help government, communities, and people navigate real challenges.
At AMBIT 2026, UM Digos did not merely participate—it brought with it a portfolio of innovations that showed how research and development can become technology in action, governance made smarter, and innovation made relevant to the people it seeks to serve.
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