TLDR: The Philippines recently concluded its first National AI Prompt Design Challenge, co-organized by Straits Interactive and the Analytics and AI Association of the Philippines. The event empowered nearly 600 non-technical participants to develop AI applications using prompt engineering, underscoring its importance as a critical skill for industry transformation and democratizing AI capabilities across various sectors.
The inaugural National AI Prompt Design Challenge in the Philippines has successfully concluded, marking a significant stride in democratizing artificial intelligence capabilities across the archipelago. Co-organized by Singaporean edtech company Straits Interactive and the Analytics and AI Association of the Philippines (AAP), the event aimed to empower individuals from diverse backgrounds, including working professionals, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and students, to harness generative AI without requiring any coding knowledge.
The challenge, which saw nearly 600 participants, was designed to introduce the fundamentals of prompt engineering – the crucial skill enabling generative AI tools to produce insights, automate tasks, and solve real-world problems. Participants engaged in a comprehensive one-day program, comprising a 3-hour bootcamp followed by a 3-hour challenge. During the bootcamp, attendees learned best practices in generative AI prompt design, ethical AI applications, and security considerations. They then applied these skills to develop their own AI-powered tools and applications on Straits Interactive’s Capabara platform, which supports various Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude.
Kevin Shepherdson, CEO and Founder of Straits Interactive, emphasized the competition’s inclusive nature, stating, ‘This prompt competition is not targeted at data scientists and coders, but instead at people who hold the domain expertise to guide the Large Language Models (LLMs) to create robust AI assistants. Our goal with this competition is to harness the immense potential of Gen AI while ensuring that its development remains grounded in ethical principles and responsible practices. By engaging students, professionals, and innovators from diverse backgrounds, we aim to democratize AI and make its benefits accessible to everyone.’
Alvin Toh, Chief Marketing Officer of Straits Interactive, further highlighted the event’s impact, noting, ‘You feel empowered when you can create an app within half a day that is unique to you, which is more useful than a generic ChatGPT or Gemini. The message we want to bring across is that the usefulness of AI is amplified when you can actually customize an app through prompting skills, and that’s the new future skills that you want to bring to the Philippines.’ He added that the one-day format was specifically designed to demystify AI and demonstrate that anyone can create an application in a single day.
The challenge aligns with the Philippine government’s strategic thrust to establish the nation as a center of excellence in AI research and development, as reflected in initiatives like the Department of Trade and Industry’s Center for AI Research (CAIR) and the National AI Strategy Roadmap 2.0.
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The competition offered attractive cash prizes, with Php 50,000 for the first prize, Php 25,000 for second, and Php 15,000 for third. All participants who completed the challenge also received Certificates of Completion. The winners of the National AI Prompt Design Challenge were slated to be announced at the AI Conference Philippines (AICON) on July 23, held at the SMX Convention Center Aura in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. The judging criteria included functionality, user experience, benefits, innovation, and ethics and security.
