University Staff at UP Develop AI Tools After Specialized Training Program
University Staff at UP Develop AI Tools After Specialized Training Program
MANILA — Employees from the University of the Philippines (UP) system have completed a four-month training program that equipped them with skills in programming and AI-native development, enabling them to create artificial intelligence tools aimed at improving internal university operations.
A total of 19 staff members participated in the program and concluded their training through a two-day workshop held on March 5–6 at the National Engineering Center in Quezon City. During the event, participants built and demonstrated working AI agents designed to automate routine administrative tasks such as database updates, email handling, certificate processing, and report generation.
The activity was part of the Dx Labs AI for Institutional Transformation Workshop, which encouraged participants to develop solutions based on real workflow challenges within the university.
Rowel Atienza, a scientist and professor at UP who helped establish the country’s first graduate programs in Artificial Intelligence, said institutions must begin adapting to the rapid development of AI technologies.
“An AI employee is very valuable. It is to your advantage to learn this now—even if you do not have a background in Computer Science. You just need to understand the basics and lean into your expertise,” Atienza said.
Meanwhile, Prospero C. Naval Jr., a professor of artificial intelligence at UP Diliman and founder of the Computer Vision and Machine Intelligence Group, highlighted the importance of applying the participants’ projects within university offices.
“You were the first ones to automate UP processes using AI. You created the templates. Let us bring these to our offices and prepare for the future of AI,” Naval said.
Participants created minimum viable products (MVPs) that addressed real administrative needs, showing how AI could reduce manual workloads and help streamline operations in different university units.
One of the participants, Judith Aguanta of the UP Cebu Budget Office, said AI could help improve the office’s workflow by assisting with data analysis, report preparation, and monitoring of financial records.
“Using these tools can reduce errors, streamline workflows, and free up time for more strategic decision-making,” Aguanta said.
The initiative supports the digital transformation efforts under UP President Angelo Jimenez and aligns with the goals of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 9 on industry, innovation, and infrastructure.
Through the development of internal AI expertise, UP hopes to lessen its reliance on external technology providers while creating solutions that directly address the institution’s operational requirements.
The university also expects the program’s first batch of completers to help lead AI adoption initiatives across UP’s constituent universities, contributing to broader digital innovation efforts in the country, including those promoted under the administration of Ferdinand Marcos Jr..
