Call for nominations for the 2026 Ateneo Service-Learning Conference (ASLC) and Ateneo Socio-Civic Engagement for National Development (ASCEND) Awards

The Ateneo Senior High School and Higher Education Community – College, Graduate (Master's/Doctoral), and Professional Schools – are invited to submit nominations for the 2026 Ateneo Service-Learning Conference (ASLC) and Ateneo Socio-Civic Engagement for National Development (ASCEND) Awards.

The ASLC brings together the 2026 ASCEND Awards finalists to showcase their innovative projects and research, fostering collaboration and best-practice sharing for sustainable development in the Philippines. On the other hand, the 2026 ASCEND Awards recognize outstanding students from Ateneo Senior High School and Higher Education, selected from the pool of finalists, whose projects and research demonstrate academic excellence and critical thinking while actively engaging communities beyond Ateneo to contribute to national development.

• Projects are implemented as development initiatives designed to address specific social, political, economic, cultural, or environmental challenges. They produce observable, measurable impact by delivering direct benefits to communities or groups, with success assessed by improvements in people's lives.
• Research encompasses systematic studies, including basic, applied, and community-engaged research, that generate knowledge and propose solutions with long-term impact. These studies often influence policies, improve programs, or directly engage communities in the research process.

All nominated works must have been completed through onsite and/or online engagements with partner communities and/or organizations.

Eligibility Criteria
To qualify, projects and research work outputs (including research papers, theses, or dissertations) must:

• Involve community engagement and address the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and nation-building concerns.
• Be completed as part of a credit-bearing course between January 2025 and May 2026. However, projects or research outputs completed between January and May 2025 that were previously nominated for 2025 ASCEND are no longer eligible for nomination. Nominators must also ensure that students who led projects or research completed between January 2025 and May 2026 are available for interviews in May and can attend the award ceremony in June if selected as finalists.

Two updated documents, the (1) Guidelines and the (2) Nomination Form, may be downloaded through this link: http://go.ateneo.edu/2026-ASCEND-Forms. The updated Nomination Form will be used by all Senior High School and higher education faculty members who wish to nominate students' projects and or research outputs. Please download the updated nomination form or make a copy before editing. If you are using Google Docs, click File > Make a copy, then make your edits on the copied version so you can update the file freely without affecting the original. Each faculty member may nominate up to four (4) projects and/or research outputs.

All duly accomplished nomination forms in PDF format must be sent by email to servicelearning@ateneo.edu. The deadline for online nomination submission is Friday, April 17, 2026. Please use the following email subject line format: 2026 ASLC and ASCEND Nomination: [Project or Research Short Title]

Example: 2026 ASLC and ASCEND Nomination: Lupa ng Araw

ASCEND conference presenters and awardees will be announced and recognized during the Conference and Awards proper, which will be held in June 2026 (the specific date will be posted in another announcement).

For any questions or concerns, please email the 2026 ASCEND Conference and Awards Committee at servicelearning@ateneo.edu. 

Thank you.