The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) drew over 200 students from campuses nationwide to its recent Data, Analytics, Transformation, and AI (D.A.T.A.) Wave Summit Hackathon, part of its efforts to enhance the skills of Filipinos in the fields of data science and AI.

The event marked the culmination of the Philippine Junior Data Science Challenge (PJDSC), which was organized by the University of the Philippines’ Data Science Society in partnership with BPI. The PJDSC attracted more than 150 team registrations spanning 43 colleges from all over the country. The top 10 finalists received cash prizes and an opportunity to work as interns at the BPI data science team. 

“In this era of rapid change, data and digital transformation are the keys to unlocking new avenues for banking. With the proper use of data, we can reach and serve more customers in pursuit of our vision to help build a better Philippines – one family, one community at a time,” said TG Limcaoco, BPI President and CEO.

Centered around the theme of financial inclusion, participating teams in the BPI D.A.T.A. Wave Summit Hackathon delved into data analysis using diverse synthetic datasets and designed a prototype product fitting for the requirement.

Additionally, the top three teams—Mapua University, Mapua Malayan Colleges Mindanao, and Ateneo de Manila University—showcased their projects in the summit, earning recognition for their outstanding performance in both challenges and ideation.

In his speech, Eric Luchangco, BPI Chief Finance Officer and Chief Sustainability Officer, underscored the significance of data science in BPI’s aim to provide more Filipinos access to financial services.

“Financial inclusion is very important to BPI because it ties into the S of the ESG components under sustainability, or the Social aspect – making significant contributions to improving society. Data is the ultimate power tool for addressing this, enabling us to quickly understand the needs and behavior over a large number of people,” he said.

A pioneer of transformative banking technology in the Philippines, BPI remains committed to advancing digitalization to support students in expanding their knowledge, exploring best practices, and exchanging ideas on how data science can advance financial inclusion in the country.