
DOST Undersecretary and Regional Director Visit iDEYA:CTI
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by Celesamae Vicente, CCS

Undersecretary Rowena Guevara and Regional Director Alfonso Alamban visited iDEYA: Center for Technopreneurship Innovation, the DOST-funded Technology Business Incubator in MSU-IIT on February 29, 2020.
Highlights of the “kamustahan session” with Vice Chancellor for Research and Extension Jinky Bornales and the DOST team included discussions on the thrusts of DOST towards research commercialization, as well as available funding grants and opportunities that university researchers can apply for.
Researchers can apply for DOST’s Science for Change Programs such as The Collaborative Research and Development to Leverage Philippine Economy (CRADLE) Program. It encourages synergistic relationships between the academe, research and development institutions, and the industry through collaborative Research and Development (R&D) projects. Under the CRADLE Program, the private sector industry will identify the problem; and the Higher Education Institution (HEI) or Research and Development Institution (RDI) will undertake the R&D to solve the problem.
Another program of the DOST is Smarter Philippines through Data Analytics R&D, Training and Adoption (SPARTA). This comes with scholarship opportunities for 30,000 learners that are interested in data science, and analytics via online learning. It aims to put in place the necessary online education, research and development mechanisms and infrastructure to not only enable the industry of data science and analytics but also to advance smart governance practices.
Research proposals can also be submitted to DOST-PCIEERD which has identified areas such as Environment Sector, Process Sector, Advanced Materials, Nanotechnology, and Photonics, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Sector, Electronics Sector, Space Technology Sector, Good Governance through Data Science and Decision Support System (GODDESS), MSMEs Cost-Competitive Low Carbon Systems, Innovative Unmanned and Autonomous Vehicle Systems and Applications, Smart Approach for the Construction Industry, Mining and Minerals Sector, Metals and Engineering Sector, Food Sector, and the Creative Industry Sector.
During the visit, Undersecretary Guevara emphasized that MSU-IIT belongs to the top seven universities in the country and first place in Mindanao that has been granted funding in the last five years because of its potent ideas. She hopes that MSU-IIT continues to be a leading institution not just in research but also in commercializing its outputs in Mindanao.