Local inventors presented products to prospective investors on the Leaders in Innovation Fellowship Demo Day at the Asian Institute of Management in Makati City hosted by the Royal Academy of Engineering, AIM and the Department of Science and Technology.
The product innovators finished 10-month courses in developing business plans at AIM and in the United Kingdom.
DoST Undersecretary Rowena Guevara said the Philippines now ranks 48th in the world, when it comes to innovation.
Guevara said the department’s programs include product research and development (R&D) geared at meeting the growing demand for food, electricity and other necessities.
She asked the public and stakeholders to see how the Filipino product innovations can be applied to their businesses.
Guevara said the DoST spends P3 billion to P5 billion every year to fuel research and development. The last two years, she said, made them realize that the technologies they are working on are readily available for technology transfer, inspiring them to spend more on it.
“We go as far as formulating guidelines we call ‘Fairness Opinion Report,’ which is necessary for any government-funded R&D so the researchers can transfer new technologies to their private partners. We realize that we cannot do it alone; we need partners like Royal Academy of Engineering and AIM to make these things happen,” she said.
Meanwhile, DoST-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development executive director Carlos Primo David said “DoST’s ultimate goal is making S&T work for the country.”
David said that the department aims to reach beneficiaries and contribute to the nation’s economy through the growth of technology-based processing.
He added that since last year the DoST has developed a system called 6Ps which stands for products, patterns process, publications, people and powering.
“There is hope in science. We are shaping future leaders of Asia,” David concluded.