UM Students Win Big at Gawad Alunig x Dalumat 2026
On January 30, 2026, University of Mindanao students earned national recognition as Team Creative Blocks, composed of Bachelor of Multimedia Arts students, emerged as the Grand Winner of Gawad Alunig 2025 during the Gawad Alunig x Dalumat (GAxD) Awards at The Manila Hotel, held in celebration of DOST-TAPI’s 39th Anniversary.
Their winning audio-visual entry, “Taghoy,” was a storytelling-driven creative advertisement that gave voice to the often-overlooked struggles of local innovators. The film featured LUMAD 6.0, an innovation from the UM Mechanical Engineering Program, which uses the concept of aerodynamics as a metaphor for resilience, showing how Filipino inventors continue to move forward despite the “drag” of limited resources and systemic challenges.
The project was led by Natalie Pimentel (Director and Writer), with George Sumanday (Creative Director and Editor) and John Carlou Romanos (Cinematographer and Editor), under the mentorship of Coach John Marco Capantoc. Through “Taghoy,” the team demonstrated how creative advertising and meaningful storytelling can elevate homegrown technologies and inspire a culture of Filipino ingenuity.
This achievement highlights the creativity, discipline, and national impact of UM students, affirming the University of Mindanao’s strong presence on the national creative and innovation stage.
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