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AI in 30 Hours Competition

AI in 30 Terms and Conditions

General Terms and Conditions governing the AI in 30 Hours Competition between Participants and PLDT Inc. (the Organizer).

General Terms and Conditions

These General Terms and Conditions (“Terms and Conditions”) will govern the AI in 30 Hours (“Competition”). By registering, joining, participating, and/or submitting an entry to the Competition, participants (the “Participants”) agree to these Terms and Conditions. These Terms and Conditions are a legally binding agreement between Participants and PLDT Inc. (“PLDT” or the “Organizer”). The Organizer shall have the right to modify these Terms and Conditions at any time, which modification shall be effective immediately upon posting/publication/dissemination.

Participation and Eligibility

  1. The competition is open to teams composed of three (3) to five (5) students, all of whom must be of legal age and have the right and capacity to enter into contracts in the Republic of the Philippines. The Participants must:
    1. Be enrolled in any university in the Philippines;
    2. Be at least eighteen (18) years of age at the time of application; and
    3. Have basic/advanced technical skills (coding and prototyping).
  2. Section 1 notwithstanding, the following persons are not eligible to participate in the Competition:
    1. members of the organizing committee of the Competition;
    2. employees of PLDT, Smart Communications, Inc. and ePLDT Inc.; or
    3. immediate family members or relatives within the third degree of consanguinity or affinity of the members of the organizing committee of the Competition.
  3. By submitting an entry to the Competition, Participants acknowledge and agree that they have read and fully understood the contents of the Privacy Notice and Terms and Conditions and that they have sought and secured legal advice regarding the Privacy Notice and Terms and Conditions, as may be necessary.
  4. To determine eligibility for the Competition, Participants will be asked to provide their age to confirm that they meet the applicable age requirement. This information will be used solely to determine eligibility for participation in the Competition. Only Participants who are shortlisted may be required to present a valid identification document for age verification during the registration or check-in process. Any identification document or proof of age presented for verification shall be promptly returned to the Participant after verification and shall not be retained or copied by the Organizer. Any Personal Data collected or recorded solely for purposes of age verification shall be securely deleted or disposed of once the verification has been completed. For clarity, this provision applies only to Personal Data and documents collected or presented specifically for age verification. Other Personal Data collected in connection with a Participant’s registration, entry, and participation in the Competition shall be processed and retained in accordance with the applicable Privacy Notice and the other provisions of these Terms and Conditions.
  5. The Organizer reserves the right to disqualify any Participant team at any point during the Competition if it has reasonable grounds to believe that it or any of its members has breached or violated any of these Terms and Conditions, engaged in fraud or misconduct, or otherwise compromised the integrity or fair administration of the Competition. The Organizer will have the sole discretion to verify and determine the existence of breaches or violations committed by the Participants of these Terms and Conditions exercised reasonably and in good faith, which determination will be final and binding upon the teams.
  6. Participants may be required to participate in publicity arranged by the Organizer. Participants agree that the Organizer may use the Participant’s names, photos, school names, and, where duly authorized, school logos for purposes of announcing, documenting and promoting the Competition and related PLDT innovation initiatives, subject to the applicable Privacy Notice. By submitting entries to the Competition, Participants grant the Organizer the right to use, reproduce, publish, and distribute your photos and videos, along with any associated captions or descriptions on all forms of media or platforms, including but not limited to online, print, and broadcast media, for the duration of the Competition and a reasonable period thereafter, for purposes of Project Documentation and Event Promotion.

Marketing

  1. The Organizer will invite students to join, participate and submit their entries to the Competition through the following modes:

    Email Blast:

    1. Innolab will be sending an email blast to all university partners, inviting them to join the Competition.
    2. The email will include the eligibility requirements and the list of documents that a Participant needs to submit to be able to participate in the Competition.
    3. Included in the email are links to the Privacy Notice and Terms & Conditions.

    Social Media Posts:

    1. PLDT Enterprise will create marketing materials about the Competition that will be posted in PLDT Enterprise’s Facebook and LinkedIn pages.
    2. The posts will include the Competition’s logo, PLDT’s logo, event partners’ logo, the eligibility requirements, and the instructions on how to join and participate in the Competition.
    3. Students, of legal age, who are interested to join the Competition may submit their application in the QR code or link provided by the Organizer.
    4. After submitting their application, they will receive an automated reply from innolab@pldt.com.ph as acknowledgement of their participation.
    5. The links to the Privacy Notice and Terms and Conditions will also be included in the email.

Submission of Entries

  1. There is no charge/fee for submitting an entry to the Competition.
  2. Interested Participants may submit their entries until October 18, 2026. In the entry, participants are required to submit the following details:
    1. Names of Participants
    2. Age of Participants
    3. Name of School
    4. Location of school (city and region)
    5. Email Address of team representative
    6. Problem Statement
    7. Proposed Solution with Description
    8. Target Market
  3. Entries must address or present solutions for any of the following categories:
    1. safe and resilient communities;
    2. smarter and more efficient public service;
    3. sustainable and connected Philippines;
    4. future-ready people and local workforce; and
    5. trusted, inclusive and secure digital government.
  4. The Organizer will not accept entries that are incomplete. Further, entries that are blatantly fake or submitted as a joke, or those that promote illegal, illicit, unethical or immoral matters, will be rejected.
  5. The Organizer shall retain the Personal Data of all Participants throughout their participation in the AI in 30 Hours and until December 31, 2026.
  6. Neither the Organizer nor any of its officers, employees, agents, or representatives will be responsible for the non-receipt and/or non-inclusion of entries in the Competition which are lost, late, illegible, incomplete, invalid, or which are due to technical failures, including failures within the control of the Organizer or its officers, employees, agents or representatives.
  7. There is no limit on the number of entries a team can submit. However, if two (2) or more entries make it to the Top 10 round/stage, only one (1) entry will be allowed to proceed from that round/stage and onwards, at the option of the team.
  8. Should a Participant wish to cancel its application or entry, they may send an email to innolab@pldt.com.ph. The Innolab team will assist the Participant with the cancellation request through email correspondence. When a Participant cancels its registration to the AI in 30 Hours, all Personal Data associated with the Participant’s entry will be permanently deleted from the Organizer’s systems manually, and you will be informed of the successful deletion of your Personal Data via email within 1-2 business days from the Organizer’s receipt of the validated request.

Top 10 Shortlisting

  1. All entries received will undergo screening for the selection of the Top 10 best solutions that will proceed to the hackathon based on the following criteria:
    Criterion Weight Description
    Idea Innovation & Creativity 25% Is the idea original, creative, or a fresh approach to an existing problem? Does it demonstrate an interesting or innovative use of AI?
    Problem–Solution Fit 25% Does the idea address the problem? Is the proposed AI solution relevant and appropriate to the identified need?
    AI Application & Value 20% Does the use of AI provide clear value or an advantage? How effectively is AI leveraged as a fundamental part of the solution, and does its use create significant value, differentiation, or impact?
    Feasibility & Potential 15% Can the idea realistically be developed into a working solution within the hackathon? Are the required technology, data, and resources reasonably accessible?
    Impact & Scalability 15% Can the idea create benefits for users, communities, education, business, or society? Does it have potential to be expanded or applied to a wider audience?
  2. The Top 10 shortlisted Participants will be announced via social media post on PLDT Enterprise’s Facebook and LinkedIn pages. The announcement may also be posted on other official Facebook and LinkedIn pages of the Organizer. The Top 10 teams will also receive a congratulatory message from innolab@pldt.com.ph, which will include the Non-Disclosure Agreement.

Pitching and Demo Day

  1. Selected teams will participate in the AI in 30 Hackathon on November 3 – 4, where they will work on identified tracks and develop technology-enabled solutions. Hackathon participants will also be invited to the PLDT and Smart’s AI Event on November 5, where they will have the opportunity to present their solutions, connect with government and industry leaders.
  2. Criteria for judging:
    Criterion Weight Description
    AI Innovation & Solution 25% How innovative and effective is the AI solution? Does AI enhance the solution and provide a clear advantage?
    Prototype & Demo Execution 25% How well does the prototype work? Does the demo clearly demonstrate the core functionality and intended user experience?
    Problem–Solution Fit 20% Does the solution effectively address the identified problem or need? Is the value to the target users clear and compelling?
    Impact & Scalability 20% What potential impact can the solution create? Can it be expanded, adopted, or applied to a larger group of users or other use cases?
    Pitch & Storytelling 10% Does the presentation demonstrate strong understanding of the solution? How effectively does the team communicate the problem, proposed solution, AI application, demonstration, and expected impact?

    The determination and decision of the duly appointed judges based on the applicable judging criteria shall be final, subject to the Organizer’s right to correct manifest clerical or computation errors.

Intellectual Property (“IP”) Terms and Provisions

  1. Each Participant represents and warrants that, to the best of their knowledge, their submission and Competition Materials are original or otherwise lawfully used; that they possess the rights and permissions necessary to submit and use them in the Competition; and that their submission does not knowingly infringe or misappropriate any intellectual property or other proprietary right of any third party. For purposes of this Agreement, the term “Competition Materials” shall refer to any and all entries, submissions, prototypes, source code, designs, data, documentation, presentations, and other work product created, developed, or submitted by a Participant in connection with the Competition, including any portions thereof generated using artificial intelligence tools or incorporating open-source software, third-party libraries, application programming interfaces (APIs), datasets, or other third-party materials.
  2. Participants may use open-source software, third-party libraries, APIs, datasets, AI tools and other third-party materials, provided that such use complies with the applicable license terms and other usage restrictions. Participants shall remain responsible for identifying any material third-party components incorporated into their Competition Materials.
  3. Subject to the rights of third parties and the provisions of these Terms and Conditions, Participants shall retain ownership of the intellectual property rights in Competition Materials. By submitting Competition Materials, each Participant grants PLDT a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, display and communicate such Competition Materials solely for purposes of administering, evaluating, judging, documenting and promoting the Competition and its results.

Use of AI and Third-Party Technology

  1. Participants may use generative AI tools, machine-learning models, APIs and other AI-enabled technologies in developing their entries, subject to these Terms and Conditions and the applicable terms governing such technologies. Participants shall disclose any material use of AI in their entries, including the AI tool, model or technology used, the purpose and manner of its use, and the components of the entry that are AI-generated or AI-assisted. Participants shall update such disclosure if their use of AI materially changes during the Competition.
  2. Participants shall be responsible for ensuring that their use of AI tools, datasets, content and other materials is lawful and appropriately authorized. Participants shall not knowingly input into any AI tool any confidential information, personal data, proprietary information or third-party materials which they are not authorized to disclose or process.
  3. Participants remain responsible for reviewing and validating their Competition Materials and shall not represent AI-generated or third-party material as exclusively created by them where such representation would be misleading.

Other Conditions

  1. The Organizer reserves the right to amend these Terms and Conditions where reasonably necessary for the proper administration of the Competition. Material amendments will be communicated to Participants through the Competition’s official communication channels and, unless otherwise required by law or circumstances beyond the Organizer’s reasonable control, will apply prospectively.
  2. By participating in the Competition, the Participants agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Organizer and its directors, officers, employees, agents, and/or representatives from any liability for any loss (including, without limitation, indirect, special, or consequential loss), expense or damage which is suffered or sustained (whether or not arising from any person’s negligence) in connection with any breach by such Participants of these Terms and Conditions (including, but not limited to, in connection with any breach by such Participants of the IP Terms and Provisions).
  3. By participating in the Competition, each Participant agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Organizer and its directors, officers, employees, agents, and representatives from and against any losses, damages, liabilities, claims, costs, and expenses arising out of or in connection with: (a) the Participant’s breach of these Terms and Conditions; (b) any infringement or misappropriation of any third-party intellectual property right arising from the Participant’s entry or Competition Materials; (c) the Participant’s violation of applicable law; (d) any unauthorized collection, use, processing, disclosure, or other handling of personal data, confidential information, or proprietary information by the Participant; or (e) the Participant’s fraud or willful misconduct.
  4. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the Organizer and its directors, officers, employees, agents, and representatives shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential loss or damage arising out of or in connection with a Participant’s participation in the Competition, submission of an entry, or acceptance or use of any prize. The Organizer shall likewise not be responsible for any loss or damage arising from circumstances beyond its reasonable control, including technical failures or disruptions affecting the submission or receipt of entries, except to the extent that such liability cannot lawfully be excluded or limited. Nothing in these Terms and Conditions shall exclude or limit any liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law or otherwise prejudice the statutory rights of Participants.
  5. The Competition and these Terms and Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of the Philippines. In case of any dispute arising out of or in connection with the Competition and these Terms and Conditions, Participants agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the proper courts of the City of Makati, to the exclusion of all other courts.
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