Ateneo math majors finish strong in the Philippine Junior Data Science Challenge 2023

Out of 160 teams from all over the country, eight teams composed mostly of Ateneo mathematics students and alumni, ranked among the Top 15 in the recently concluded Philippine Junior Data Science Challenge (PJDSC).

Ultimately, Anjanette Cayabyab (4 BS AMF, DOST, ASPAC, and Dagupan City scholar), Jimson Paulo Layacan (4 BS CS, BS Math '23, DOST and Fr Ben Nebres SJ Science Academic Scholar), and Christell Doria (4 BS AMF), or Team SEC-A, finished third and took home a trophy and Php 90,000 cash prize during a ceremony on 6 November 2023 at One Esplanade, Pasay City. 

Another group composed of Mathematics alumni, Ryan Roi Cayas (BS AMF '22), Ralph Joshua Macarasig (M DSc '23), and Genesis Tan (M AMF '23), placed 7th in the competition and were awarded the Special Award in Financial Inclusion and AI innovation.

Overall, Ateneo finished the strongest among all the participating schools. Below are the ranks of all the Ateneo teams who made it to the Top 15.

3rd Place - Anjanette Cayabyab (4 BS AMF), Christell Doria (4 BS AMF), and Jimson Paulo Layacan (BS Math '23, 4 BS CS)

6th Place - Sted Micah T Cheng (3 BS AMDSc), Clarence James G Monterozo (3 BS AMDSc), and Francine T Tarrazona(3 BS AMDSc)

7th Place - Ryan Roi Cayas (BS AMF '22), Ralph Joshua Macarasig (M DSc '23), and Genesis Tan (M AMF '23),

8th Place - Eurico E Antipuesto (3 BS AMDSc), Caitlyn Sophie U Lee (3 BS AMDSc), and Ma. Leibniz Charisse D Parra (3 BS AMDSc)

10th Place - Rafael Ma. Vicente D. Tagulao (3 BS AMDSc), Diane C Yumol (3 BS AMDSc), and Val Allen U Eltagonde (2 BS AMDSc)

11th Place - Ivan Yuri P De Leon (3 BS AMDSc), Daniel Dave A Cruz (3 BS AMDSc), Aldie Alejandro (3 BS AMDSc)

12th Place - Rafael Sheen R Acuña (3 BS AMDSc), Robert Nelson R Leung (3 BS AMDSc), and Andrea Nicole G Senson(3 BS AMDSc)

14th Place - David Demitri Africa (M DSc, BS AMDSc '23), Mark Kevin Ong Yiu (M DSc, BS AMDSc '23), and Carlo Gabriel Pastor (M Dsc, BS AMDSc '23)

Co-presented by the UP Data Science Society and the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), PJDSC 2023 ran for approximately three months (from August to October) and consisted of four challenges. These challenges tested the participants’ skills in data science concepts, data segmentation, interpretation, and recommendation, artificial intelligence integration, and narrative presentation. The outputs were centered around promoting financial inclusivity through data science. At the end of the first challenge, only 50 teams (out of 160) remained. At the end of the second challenge, the Top 15 teams were chosen. The final challenge further trimmed down the list to the Final 3 teams. During the finals, the teams from Mapua University and Mapua Malayan Colleges Mindanao rose as champions and first runner-up, respectively.

Banner photo courtesy of BPI.