By Karen de la Cruz, STRATCOM Correspondent

Five tourism students of Mariano Marcos State University were recognized in the virtual Community and Technological (CommTECH) Nusantara: Wonderful Folktales of Indonesia 2025, an international virtual exhibition on Indonesian tourism, from January 6 to 17.

Competing against tourism students and practitioners from 24 universities from 10 countries, John Wesley dela Cruz won the reviewer's Favorite Poster for his creation, highlighting Indonesia’s rich cultural heritage and diverse attractions. Under the same competition, Renz Cedrick Queja and Jasper Lorenz Laluan also got Special Awards for their digital posters.

As one of the active delegations for this year’s CommTECH Nusantara, Raphael Crisante Ancheta and John Paul Pahinag won as Best Participants. They were chosen because of their active participation in virtual sessions, innovative presentations, and creative promotional materials.

Pahinag, also declared the Most Outstanding Participant among the delegates, was invited to CommTECH Highlight 2025, which will be held in Indonesia this year.

MMSU President Dr. Julius Virgilio Manzano praised the students for their performance in this year’s edition. He hopes their continued participation in similar engagements will expose them to industry tourism trends.

In 2024, Queja also won the best poster for showcasing Indonesian cuisine in the same virtual camp. 

CommTECH Nusantara is hosted by the Global Engagement Office of Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) in Indonesia. This year’s virtual camp included participating universities from Malaysia, Japan, Peru, Colombia, Taiwan, Vietnam, India, China, Bangladesh, and the Philippines.