The University of the Philippines Mindanao (UPMin) co-organized a  coastal cleanup with the Rizal Memorial College School of Law Paralegal Volunteers Organization at the Pawikan Sanctuary at Matina Aplaya, Davao City, on September 17, 2022, in line with the International Coastal Cleanup Day. UPMin's participation was coordinated by proponents of the UP Mindanao in-house project entitled "Determining spatial distribution of marine litter using drone captured images in selected Davao Oriental coastal areas: Application to assess spatial overlap between beached litter and marine turtle nesting sites," led by Prof. Vladimer Kobayashi and Prof Ruth Gamboa of the College of Science and Mathematics (CSM). 

University of the Philippines Mindanao's (UPMin) Professor Jose Ildefonso Rubrico reported that nearly 2 million features from aerial images have been labeled, and core modules for self-operating vehicles are under development under two Artificial Intelligence (AI) research programs on the campus.  

Professor Rubrico gave these and other updates as program leader of the Philippine Sky Artificial Intelligence Program (SkAI–Pinas) and the Autonomous Societally Inspired Mission Oriented Vehicles (ASIMOV) at the 7th National Research & Development Conference held at the Philippine International Convention Center on September 16, 2022.

“The Philippines has amassed big data from flood hazard and resource maps which are underutilized and remain in archives. SkAI-Pinas seeks to activate this data for the widespread use of Filipinos,” he said. 

Farmers in conflict-vulnerable areas in Mindanao experienced increased incomes after the University of the Philippines Mindanao (UPMin), along with partners Landcare Foundation of the Philippines (LFPI) and ACIAR Mindanao Agricultural Extension Project (AMAEP), implemented the Livelihood Improvement through Facilitated Extension (LIFE) model, an alternative agricultural extension delivery strategy, from December 2017 to April 2021. The program had the support of the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology(PCAARRD-DOST).

“Incomes increased from 31% to 89%, and their vegetable gardens and other livelihoods provided a steady source of income,” said UPMin professor Emma Ruth Bayogan, program leader of the “Enhancing Livelihood Opportunities in Conflict-Vulnerable Area in Mindanao through the Livelihood Improvement through Facilitated Extension (LIFE) Model,” at the 7th National Research & Development Conference organized by the DOST on September 15 to 16, 2022, at the PICC Complex.