By Victoria “NIKE” De Dios
There is a very good reason why the country should celebrate National Innovation Day as the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD) recently unveiled 100 completed innovative projects aimed at helping Filipinos through research, development, and innovation.
In the virtual opening ceremony of the 2021 Philippine Research, Development, and Innovation Conference (PRDIC), the Philippines’ first massive, online public presentation of research, development, and innovation projects in the industry, energy, and emerging technology sectors, DOST-PCIEERD Executive Director Dr. Enrico C. Paringit expressed elation over the feat of Filipino researchers who were able to come up with game-changing innovations amid the pandemic.
“We initiated this event to keep the public abreast about the development of our cutting-edge solutions that help us usher in the next wave of growth and prosperity. It is through science and technology that we can get our way out of this crisis. Through this conference, we hope that the public becomes more aware of the important role that R&D plays in society – anywhere from communication, transportation, disaster mitigation, food production, medical applications, and many more,” Paringit said.
Dr. Paringit also shared that for the past 10 years, DOST and PCIEERD funded a total of 2,546 projects across the different regions that amounts to more than P17 billion. This covers R&D projects on artificial intelligence (AI); biotechnology; construction; creative industries; disaster mitigation; electronics technology; energy; environment; food; genomics; human security; information and communications technology (ICT); information dissemination and promotion; infrastructure development program; institution development program; material science; metals and engineering; mining and minerals; nanotechnology; photonics; process; space technology; and transportation.
From all these, the top five sectors the council has supported are in space technology applications utilizing 29.14 percent of DOST-PCIEERD’s Grants-In-Aid (GIA) Program, followed by food (9.62 percent), disaster mitigation (8.57 percent), process (6.82 percent), and material science (4.69 percent).
The DOST-PCIEERD executive director also mentioned some of the council’s completed projects, which included ready-to-eat retort foods, spray-dried powder dextran and high fructose syrup, halal chicken and chicken by-products, and severe weather amphibious navigator using local abaca, which showcased the country’s homegrown technologies and innovation.
“We are doing this to win the hearts and minds of our fellow Filipinos towards leaning on our own locally developed innovations. With greater technology adoption, we can enhance citizen experiences, help them overcome challenges and together further advance science, technology, and innovation (STI) in the Philippines,” he said.
Despite the many achievements of Filipino scientists and researchers, Dr. Paringit emphasized that there is still much to be done, especially in terms of technology adoption and transfer for some particular sectors, thus imploring stakeholders to continue collaborating with the science and technology community.
“We hope that stakeholders see PCIEERD as a valued and leading partner in enabling innovations, PCIEERD will continue to champion and support worthy research projects and capacity-building activities all for our collective aspiration for economic growth, social progress, and environmental equilibrium,” he concluded.