In line with the Group’s Great Transformation, AboitizPower recently embarked on its very first Hackathon, a two-day event that marked a significant milestone in the company's journey towards transformation and innovation.

More than just a workshop, the AP Hackathon was made possible through the partnership between the GT Culture Pillar Tribe, Google, and Globe Partners, and serves as a direct response to the digitalization imperative laid out in AboitizPower's Massive Transformative Purpose: "Transforming Energy for a Better World." But it's not just about going digital for the sake of it; it's about purpose-driven digitalization, ensuring that it creates value where it matters most – for its assets, people, and customers.

Day 1 set the stage with a Design Thinking Workshop facilitated by Google Partners. It was here where the first spark of innovation began, as ideation and pretotyping took center stage.

Participants were given a sneak peek into the future of work, leaving them with a profound appreciation for how AboitizPower is transforming their ways of working to support the hybrid workplace. Google introduced the concept of Thinking 10x, an advanced brainstorming technique that leverages technology to push boundaries. By the end of Day 1, the groups had created a whopping eight pretotypes, ready to be transformed into reality on Day 2.

You have to have a certain amount of humility to be able to say or accept that you don't know everything, and that some of my ideas may fail.

One participant in particular found the activity to be uniquely informative yet humbling, as Michael Granada puts it succinctly. “Being open-minded takes humility. You have to have a certain amount of humility to be able to say or accept that you don't know everything, and that some of my ideas may fail. It is the key to being innovative.”

Meanwhile, empathy was the name of the game for Ryah Claudette Sarile when it came to her key takeaway from Day 1. “The design thinking process focused on the users, solutions need to center on solving the problem of the user. We need to empathize with them, understand the root of their pain points and design the solution from there.”

Day 2 was where the action truly unfolded, as the Appsheet Appathon, powered by Globe Partners, kicked off. Participants, alongside their facilitators, rolled up their sleeves and delved into the world of Google Appsheet applications. It was a day of hands-on exploration, learning, and building, as these budding innovators transformed their ideas into functional projects.

What started as eight pretotypes on Day 1 had now blossomed into a total of fifteen projects, each addressing unique opportunities. The teams are currently engaged in consultation sessions with Globe Partners, where they pitch their innovative ideas and seek guidance to refine their concepts.

"There are a lot of possibilities in Appsheet, it is a skill-building program to address low/no code apps needed by the support team. I also felt a sense of empowerment, not having to rely solely on IT for this,” Sarile shared.

But this is just the beginning. The People and Culture Transformation team behind the Hackathon is on a mission to keep the innovation fire burning within the A+10 community. Their goal is to continually seek out better ways of doing things and to ignite an innovative mindset across the organization.

As AboitizPower continues to embrace digital transformation and innovation, the Hackathon is living proof of the organization’s commitment to harnessing the power of technology for a better world.