 |
| In the photo are the 10 teams that make up the Filippinnovation Entreprenuership Corps together with representatives from DOST-PCIEERD, DLSU, RTI International, and USAID STRIDE. (Photo from PCIEERD) |
In the growing technology startup environment in the country, there is a need for sustainable programs that will enable these startups to become commercially viable. Research and Development (R&D) is crucial to such development.
The Department of Science and Technology - Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD) partnered with De La Salle University (DLSU) and the USAID STRIDE program to establish he Filipinnovation Entrepreneurship Corps (FEC) to conduct a “lean startup training program” that will help Filipino tech startups.
There are 10 DOST-funded principal investigators or RDI project leads that are in the program that will deliver the training program that will define commercial and societal values for the research of the participants.
The program was based on the US National Science Foundation I-Corps program which has succeeded in creating a startup ecosystem in the US. The researchers are embedded in teams together with an entrepreneurial lead, an experienced industry mentor and a technology transfer officer that will create a business model canvas and conduct customer interviews that will continuously refine the products and ideas.
The PCIEERD is represented by Russel M. Pili, Chief of the Research Information and Technology Transfer Division (RITTD).
This initial batch of FEC trainees have teams that represent the DOST’s Industrial Technology Development Institute (ITDI), Metals Industry Research and Development Center (MIRDC), Philippine Textile Research Institute (PTRI), Food and Nutrition Research Institute, (FNRI); and DOST-funded research at UP Diliman, UP Los Baños, and De La Salle University.
Nationally Certified Instructors for the National Science Foundation’s I-Corps will be participating in the program. Dr. Jim Chung is the Associate Vice President for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the George Washington University; Robert Storey is an Executive in Residence at Johns Hopkins University and Principal of the MVR Company that focuses on the assessment and creation of new ventures. Moreover, providing direct teaching support to participants is Adam Klich, an Innovation Advisor with RTI International and a former startup founder are among those who will serve as the FEC’s principal instructors.
0 Comments