Pinoy Scientists and Engineers

The Philippine S&T landscape is barren with few oasis of technical and scientific excellence. Filipinos are not known as world-class researchers but there are some places where ‘world-class R&D’ is the norm.

At the National Institute of Physics in UP Diliman, researches in laser technology, plasma matter and semiconductor physics have been ongoing for several decades now. Robotics and artificial intelligence research are being conducted by the Department of Electrical Engineering. The Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) are designing microchips and open-source software. These technologies are available to local SMEs. Any businessman or small entrepreneur could visit them and discuss options of technology commercialization.

But the opportunities do not end there. There are many low- and medium-technology inputs needed by small enterprises that could easily be solved by these technologists. The physicist doing material science research on advanced materials could probably come up with several innovative solutions to the problem of food packaging and preservation. The robotics engineers and microchip designers could then develop specialized machines that will implement the solutions proposed by the physicist into something that could be integrated in the assembly line of food manufacturers. Aside from food processing, there are many other opportunities in other cross-sectoral areas such as the agriculture and textile industry. Besides the physicist and engineers, there are also chemists, biologists and other technologists and scientists that are willing to help entrepreneurs, willing to contribute to economic development.

Asking Help from Filipino Scientists and Engineers

UP Diliman used to have volunteer program called Pahinungod. One of the projects under that program sends volunteers to remote barangays and offers tutorial programs to high school students who are going to take the UPCAT (UP College Admission Test). The surprising thing about this is that a lot of my batchmates (MS Physics, MS Materials Science Engineering grad students at that time) participated. They spent two weeks teaching kids. It was a fulfilling activity. They were able to help kids and had fun at the same time.

The spirit of voluntarism is still alive. But instead of just undergraduate students, the volunteers are masteral student doing cutting-edge research. Had they been asked, these same group of volunteers could solve technology issues in remote barangays. But they tricky part here is to carefully plan the development process within the two weeks semestral break. Otherwise, they find it difficult to fit the extra activity between work/teaching, studies and research work.

How do you contact them?

1. The traditional way is to visit them at their laboratory. Check major universities if they have science programs (biology, chemistry, physics, etc). Inquire where the specific department is located, visit them, introduce yourself and your purpose. They may be nerds but are humans, too. Don't be surprise if they look like ordinary persons. They actually are. Some are nice, too.
2. Ask a friend studying at a university if he knows anyone from a particular science program or someone who knows someone or someone who knows someone who knows someone, etc. Eventually, you'll be able to get a contact number (even a cell number) of a scientist.
3. Go to an internet cafe, look up http://www.up.edu.ph or http://www.admu.edu.ph or http://www.dlsu.edu.ph or the website of the university near you or try the Department of Science and Technology Website (http://www.dost.gov.ph). Click the link to the College of Science and a specific department. E-mails and phone numbers are usually there. Drop them a call or e-mail them a friendly message.

It might be a bit overwhelming if you ask them to help grow your business right away. Take the time to get to know them. If you need technical advice, try to be as specific as possible. They usually are quite busy. For example, instead of asking them how to improve farm production, be specific on the type of crop and a particular problem you have in growing it. Try to invite them to visit your area/farm/shop so they could see the problem themselves.

If in the course of discussion, you see that the scientists can help you with your problem and he is willing to help, you don't need to hire him for the job and pull him out of the university. The "Rapid Product Development" write up is one way of getting their help.

Linked In

We are looking for Filipino scientists and engineers, individual or group, willing to participate in the Technopreneurial Revolution. Please contact Rodec through LinkedIn, http://www.linkedin.com/in/rodec. Let's LINKED IN..