This year marked the second Br. Andrew Gonzalez FSC Academia-Industry Conference (BAGCON) organized by De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) and held on Nov. 12 to 13 at SPACE, One Ayala. With this year's theme, “New Imaginings: Designing Future Societies,” BAGCON brought together distinguished speakers to inform and immerse learners on pressing issues within the creative industry and ways to combat them.

BAGCON has been a conduit for shared insights between academia and industry. With its first conference focusing on the hospitality and tourism sector, this year shifted its focus towards creative industries with an emphasis towards advancing innovation and pushing inclusive creativity. DLS-CSB’s School of Environment and Design (SED), School of Arts, Culture and Performance (SACP), School of New Media Arts (SNMA), and the School of Management and Information Technology’s (SMIT) Game Design and Development program organized the collaborations.

SNMA Dean Ms. Sharon Mapa Arriola, one of the main proponents in making this conference come to life, shared in an interview with The Benildean that the event aims to “have a dialogue between the industry and the academe, to have a platform wherein we get to hear what’s happening in the industry and how [...] Benilde can respond to what’s happening.” She also sought to include a workshop wherein the participants could explore meaningful discussions and translate ideas into actionable solutions. Making it a reciprocal junction between industry and academia.

Setting the stage: BAGCON and its vision

The conference commenced with an opening speech from Dr. Carmelita Quebengco AFSC, Chancellor Emeritus of De La Salle University, who introduced BAGCON and its purpose. In addition, Chancellor Benhur Ong gave his welcome address and reminded the audience to “treat imagination as a strategic tool for redesigning systems that are currently cracking under the weight of inequality and uncertainty.”

Day one featured talks by renowned experts across various fields. Prof. Mona Nasser reimagined space from a medical view, Mr. Liam Young explored the world of speculative architecture, Mr. Julien Merceron discussed artificial intelligence (AI) advancements in game development, Mr. Ashok Mathur emphasized the value of arts in research, Dr. Ching-Ju Cheng reassessed cultural policy around civic engagement, and Mr. Howie Severino stressed journalism’s role in this digital age.

A glimpse into their minds

“Everything I do is creating planetary imaginaries, which is trying to create new images and visions of the future. Our images of the future are based on old science fiction ideals, [...] and we’re in desperate need of new images of the future,” Mr. Young said in an interview with The Benildean.

“I really think universities are an amazing space to experiment and to explore new ideas. [...] There isn’t the pressure of finance, industry, and client briefs,” he added, highlighting the importance for students to immerse themselves in gatherings like this.

Meanwhile, Mr. Severino imparted, “What I wanted to show is that even old-school or legacy kinds of media or technology have a place in the future. Being part of the future doesn’t mean it has to be new.” He emphasized that innovation is not purely about novelty, but about purpose and relevance.

“So much in life that’s meaningful is hard. But once you decide that it's meaningful, even if it's difficult, it won't matter, because it's important enough to get it done,” he told The Benildean, emphasizing the commitment and perseverance needed to turn ideas into reality.

Ideas brought to life

The second day of BAGCON started with an opening speech by the Dean of SED Mr. Harvey Vasquez, where he gave a brief recap of what happened the day before and an introduction to the last speaker of the versatile lineup. Ms. Audrey Wong, an educator at LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore, provided new perspectives on the generative potential of art spaces.

This was then followed by a roundtable discussion where the existence of culture and creativity coincides in the industry was tackled by panelists Chairman and CEO at Havas Ortega, Mr. Jos Ortega, the Officer-in-Charge of the Visual Arts and Museum Division at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Ms. Rica Estrada Uson, Ms. Rhea O. Matute, Executive Director of the Design Center of the Philippines and Atty. Gio Franco Gomez, Program Manager DTI Creative Industries Development Program Management Unit.

Backing up theory with action, the attendees were tasked to create their own declarative document, stating the changes they wished to see in the creative industries and how they would create such results. The practice pushed the Benildean community to use the insights they have gained throughout BAGCON 2025.

Embracing technology and reimagining the future

Wynette Herman, an ID123 student from the Creative Industries Management (AB-CIM) program, shared her key learnings from the event in an interview with The Benildean, “[...] The ones that I found interesting were the discussions about education. [Dr. Mathur] talked about AI but… within the topic of arts, creative industries, and within education.”

“He said that future [curricula] should have a course on AI literacy because we cannot deny that AI has affected the lives of creatives now and will definitely affect the creatives in the future. There are actual creatives all over the world who have lost their jobs to AI, but if [it is] managed correctly I believe that AI could be a tool that can help push the arts,” Herman expressed.

In the same topic of AI, Mr. Jeryc Garcia, a Multimedia Arts faculty member, shared how BAGCON has taught him to create a future based on what we already have. “AI is a tool, may ecological costs siya. But like all tools, it depends on who’s using the tool.” He mentioned how Mr. Merceron’s talk advocates the use of AI for efficiency.

However, despite the tool being available in the Philippines, it is also not accessible to all—”definitely, he was talking from his [first-world] context,” emphasizing the digital divide happening in the country.

With this, the event sparked discussions shaped by different perspectives from professionals all around the world—whether it is something that could be applied into the Philippine context, it is important to remember that not one experience is the same as another.

BAGCON 2025 provided new ideas that could help build a better understanding on how progress can begin with what we have.

Articles by Anica Louise Dayao

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