On 27 September 2026, two teams of Information Technology (IT) and Computer Science (CS) students from the Saint Louis University (SLU) School of Accountancy, Management, Computing and Information Studies (SAMCIS) garnered major awards at the Philippine Collegiate Championship (PCC) “The Next Gen 2026” Competition, held in Parañaque, Manila.
Team Sawadikap, composed of Jecquar Ravent Aguilan, Jared Eizen Facun, Edgardo Miguel Gagarin, and Gelina Tibayan, emerged as champion. They pitched and created an app called PWDe, an assistive tool designed for individuals with motor disabilities. The app allows users to play mobile games completely hands-free, removing barriers that typically exclude this community from mobile gaming. A key feature is GabAI, a computer vision model that automatically detects and maps buttons for supported games from a single screenshot. This eliminates the need for manual configuration, making the tool accessible even to users who may not be tech-savvy.
2nd Place winner Team AI’m Ready, composed of Heart Conserva, Eryle Delos Santos, John Michael Garcia, and Julianna Lacaden, presented a centralized esports platform that consolidates tools and resources for student gamers. The platform offers predictive game stats, career guidance, game recommendations, PH tournament listings, and party chat. By bringing these features into a single hub, the team addressed the common problem of scattered information that student gamers and aspiring esports professionals often struggle with.
The competition began with a nationwide selection process, where more than 50 teams from schools all over the Philippines submitted their pitches. From these submissions, two SLU submissions were selected as part of the Top 5 teams, earning an invitation to bring their ideas to life during a 48-hour hackathon. Participating teams were tasked with developing a minimum viable product for their proposed solutions. After the 48-hour hackathon, Team Sawadikap emerged as champions with a score of 93, while Team AI’m Ready finished closely behind, winning 2nd Place, with a score of 92.
Aligned with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 4 (Quality Education), their performance marked a historic back-to-back win for SLU, as the university had also claimed victory in the similar competition held last year. (Article and Photos by SAMCIS)
