DOST-Kalinga, DICT-Kalinga, and KSU Ran a One-Day AI and Digital Marketing Training for MSMEs and TBI Incubatees. Participants Left With AI-Built Marketing Materials.

On April 8, 2026, DOST-Kalinga, DICT-Kalinga, and Kalinga State University jointly ran a Training on AI and Digital Marketing at the KSU Bulanao Campus in Tabuk City, bringing together MSMEs and incubatees from the KSU Technology Business Incubation program for a full day of practical digital skills instruction. The training was supported by LODIxR interns and structured around two back-to-back sessions: AI prompt engineering in the morning, and direct digital marketing application in the afternoon. By the end of the day, participants had produced and presented their own AI-assisted marketing materials and campaign concepts.

That output-on-day-one structure is deliberate and worth noting. Most digital training programmes end with a certificate. This one ended with a portfolio piece.

Who Was in the Room

The participant mix combined two distinct groups: established MSMEs already operating in Kalinga, and incubatees currently inside KSU's Technology Business Incubation program. KSU's TBI, launched in 2025 with a specific focus on turning indigenous food products and local agricultural resources into viable businesses, is one of the newest TBIs in Cordillera. Bringing TBI incubatees into the same training room as operating MSMEs creates a peer learning dynamic that structured incubation alone cannot replicate: newer founders watch how experienced business owners apply tools, and established MSMEs get exposed to the creative approaches that early-stage innovators bring.

KSU Vice President for Research, Development, Extension, and Training Dr. Lope T. Buen opened the session on behalf of KSU President Dr. Joy Grace P. Doctor, underscoring the university's commitment to industry collaboration. DOST-Kalinga Provincial S&T Director Ms. Jasmin L. Donaal framed the stakes in her opening message: science, technology, and innovation as the primary drivers of inclusive economic growth for local enterprises.

Morning: AI Prompt Engineering

Mr. John Vil Boguen, PDO and LICDB Focal Person of DICT-Kalinga, led the morning session on AI prompt engineering. The session introduced participants to AI tools applicable to business operations, with a focused discussion on how to construct prompts that generate usable content, from product descriptions and social media captions to customer response templates and marketing copy.

This is the practical entry point for most MSME owners encountering AI for the first time. The barrier is not tool access. ChatGPT, Gemini, and other tools are free or low-cost. The barrier is knowing how to ask them the right question. Prompt engineering closes that gap, and a one-day introduction is enough to make a business owner productively functional with AI tools if the instruction is hands-on rather than theoretical.

Afternoon: Digital Marketing to Live Output

Mr. Lawrence Aquino, Information Officer and Cybersecurity Provincial Focal Person of DICT-Kalinga, led the afternoon digital marketing session, where participants applied what they had learned in the morning directly to their own businesses and projects. The culminating Presentation of Outputs required each participant to show their AI-assisted marketing materials and campaign concepts to the group, turning a training exercise into an accountability moment with an audience.

KSU Technology and Innovation Center Director Dr. Karen Razelle Duyan closed the session by encouraging participants to sustain their momentum and integrate AI and digital strategies as ongoing business practice, not a one-time workshop outcome.

What This Means for Northern Luzon

Kalinga is one of the most geographically isolated provinces in Cordillera. Tabuk City, the provincial capital, sits several hours from Baguio by road. That distance has historically meant that digital skills training, trade fairs, and innovation programs reach Kalinga last, if at all. The April 8 training, jointly run by three institutions with a combined mandate covering research, ICT, and technology business incubation, represents the kind of coordinated multi-agency delivery that makes digital access in remote provinces structurally sustainable rather than dependent on a single budget cycle.

DOST is targeting 10,000 MSMEs trained on AI and advanced technologies over the next three years through its newly launched National Artificial Intelligence Center for Research and Innovation, with regional DOST hubs as the primary delivery channel. The KSU training is exactly that pipeline in action. For MSMEs and entrepreneurs in Kalinga, Apayao, and Mountain Province who missed this batch, DOST-Kalinga and DICT-Kalinga run regular training activities. Following both agencies directly is the fastest way to get onto the next intake.

Original Source:

This article is based on an official post by DOST-Kalinga and Tabuk City, published April 2026. We are grateful for the original documentation that brought this story to light.

Market Context:

DOST's newly launched National Artificial Intelligence Center for Research and Innovation is targeting 10,000 MSMEs trained on AI and advanced technologies over the next three years, with DOST regional offices as the primary delivery mechanism for provincial reach. Only 16% of Filipino MSMEs currently use digital tools despite rising market pressure, with skill gaps, cost, and complexity cited as the top barriers to adoption. KSU's Technology Business Incubator, launched in 2025, focuses specifically on turning Kalinga's indigenous food products and local agricultural resources into scalable businesses, making AI-assisted marketing a direct revenue enabler for its incubatees. Kalinga's MSME sector includes food processing, weaving, handicrafts, and agricultural products with established national trade fair participation, but persistent digital marketing gaps that limit their reach to primarily local and regional buyers.