GENERAL SANTOS CITY — The third Transformative AI Network (TRAIN) will bring its regional innovation program to SOCCSKSARGEN on October 26–30, linking discussions on artificial intelligence (AI) with investment promotion, enterprise productivity, workforce development and public-sector governance across General Santos, Koronadal and Kidapawan cities.

The five-day AI and Innovation Week will bring together business leaders, local government representatives, educators, technology practitioners, entrepreneurs and young people to identify practical applications of emerging technologies and develop priorities for local implementation.

Led by Atty. Jocelle Batapa-Sigue, convenor of the Philippine ICT Innovation Network (PIIN) and Digital Innovation for Women Advancement (DIWA), TRAIN advances an approach to digital transformation that places stakeholder participation alongside technology adoption, with attention to the capabilities, partnerships and governance needed to produce measurable benefits.

Following its earlier editions in Bacolod and Negros Occidental and Isabela (Ilagan, Cauayan and Santiago Cities), the SOCCSKSARGEN program will connect enterprise and investment discussions with venture development, digital skills mapping, innovation ecosystem planning and responsible AI commitments, providing a framework for participating institutions to move from awareness toward coordinated action.

Batapa-Sigue, a former undersecretary for ICT industry development, positions TRAIN around the ability of communities to translate new technologies into greater efficiency, productivity and interoperability, while ensuring that their use supports inclusion, transparency and human accountability.

The opening day hosted by the local government of General Santos and GenSan Chamber of Commerce and Industry , INVEST GENSAN 2026: AI-Powered Investment and Digital Business Summit, will examine how businesses and local institutions can identify commercially relevant AI applications, strengthen investment readiness and develop the talent required for digital growth.

Four panels will cover enterprise solutions, investment in innovation and talent, policy and data governance, and digital trust and safety, connecting the operational concerns of businesses with the institutional conditions needed to support adoption.

Expected outputs include an investment and digital business priority map, proposed features for an investor-intelligence dashboard, and an initial identification of enterprise AI use cases and potential pilot partners, giving participants a basis for subsequent project development.

The General Santos program will continue on October 27 through SOX INNOVATE 2026, a business-and-student venture ideation sprint using the WEN Ignite approach, in which teams composed of two businesspersons and three students will work on a real business problem and develop a market-driven venture idea. This is organized by the Chamber and Wadhwani Foundation – Philippines.

The format is designed to connect entrepreneurial learning with actual enterprise needs, allowing students to contribute ideas while business participants provide industry context, operational experience and insight into customer demand.

A DIWA Mindanao Meetup at LSK HomeVibe Co-Working Space will complement the venture sprint through discussions on product development, validation, early customers, founder resilience and ventures that combine AI with human oversight, followed by mentoring and feedback intended to identify support requirements and market connections.

Women’s participation will be integrated into the wider enterprise agenda, with the program seeking to develop a pipeline of founders, venture concepts, mentors and potential partners for follow-through beyond the event.

On October 28, KORONADAL DIGITAL SHIFT 2026 will turn to the capabilities required for electronic government, AI-enabled enterprises and the creative economy, with sessions on effective data, human-in-the-loop systems for startups, creative production, financial technology in government transactions, and cybersecurity.

Organized by the local government of Koronadal City, the program will also address digital safety for youth and families, creative industry opportunities, and talent development through innovation and robotics, broadening the discussion from individual technology tools to the skills and institutional arrangements needed to use them effectively.

A participatory digital skills mapping session will ask stakeholders to identify priorities for local government units, businesses, schools, workers and communities, with the resulting map intended to guide skills pathways, partnerships and subsequent action.

Among the scheduled contributors are Globe Telecom’s Derick Ohmar Adil on AI, data and privacy governance; FullSuite Pod founder and chief executive officer Maggie Po on startups and human-in-the-loop systems; and Pauline Oderon, president of the Multi-Media Arts Council of the Philippines, on creative industries.

Jeanette “Pam” L. Toledo, chair and president of Jaythree Information Technology and CATALIST, will contribute perspectives on enterprise-government collaboration and financial technology, while Ignite Telecoms’ Nitz Rimando and Custard Innovations Corp.’s Lord Dalinas will participate in discussions involving digital readiness, infrastructure and safety.

The program also draws on contributions from Wadhwani Foundation program manager Mary Rose Ofianga, digital inclusion advocate Christine Sumog-Oy, industry and training leader Wilmark Econar, and robotics and innovation practitioner Engr. Edicio M. Faller.

In Kidapawan City on October 29, WISER COTABATO 2026 will organize ecosystem planning around Workforce, Innovation, Strategy, Ecosystems and Resilience, connecting institutions, enterprises, talent and community priorities through workshops and working-group discussions.

The day’s agenda includes a digital strategy conversation for the CATALIST initiative, the scheduled launch of the RESETA Super App, and a TRAIN Spotlight session with Mazhar Durrani, identified in the program as chief executive officer of Parallaxnet USA and Virtalus.

Participants will work toward an innovation ecosystem map, digital strategy priorities and a collaboration agenda identifying feasible actions, lead institutions, partners and resource requirements.

The concluding AI FUTURES SOCCSKSARGEN 2026 program on October 30 will examine the implications of AI for education, work, creativity and public service, alongside discussions on digital literacy, trust and the verification of AI-generated information.

Youth dialogues and a futures laboratory will provide space to examine opportunities in learning, careers and community problem-solving, while sessions on academic integrity, personal data, harmful outputs and human review will inform the development of responsible-use commitments.

Across the five days, TRAIN will seek to connect local economic ambitions with practical implementation requirements, placing businesses, government, schools and communities in a shared process of determining where technology can create value and how its benefits should be measured and governed.