DOST Secretary Fortunato T. De La Peña and US-ASEAN Business Council President Alexander C. Feldman present the newly signed MOU that will encourage cooperation and partnership between the government and private sector in the promotion of science, technology and innovation.
Manila, Philippines-- DOST and the US-ASEAN Business Council (US-ABC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to promote the development and implementation of science, technology and innovation initiatives of the government in the private sector, Sep. 16.
The signing ceremony with DOST Secretary Fortunato De La Peña took place during the Council’s 2019 Business Mission to the Philippines, an annual set of meetings promoting dialogue between U.S. private sector and the Philippine government.
Secretary De La Peña expressed optimism for the MOU. “The MOU between DOST and the Council will enable us to fast-track and strengthen collaboration between industry and government. We welcome dialogue and partnership with US firms in our drive to enhance research and innovation across all sectors and build S&T capacities in the Philippines,” he said.
US-ABC is a premier advocacy organization of several top US companies including Amazon, Cargill, CISCO, CITI, Coca-Cola, EXXONMobil, Fluor, IBM, Procter & Gamble, Sanofi, Texas Instrument, Visa, among others.
“The Philippines’ innovation story deserves recognition and support along with its high economic growth trajectory,” said Ambassador Michael W. Michalak, US-ABC Senior Vice President and Regional Managing Director. “The country broke into the group of innovation achievers of the Global Innovation Index for the first time this year. Our member companies hope to contribute even more to the Philippines’ innovation efforts and strengthen the country’s science-based policy-making and adherence to international standards. We are excited to facilitate an internship-to-employment program under this MOU whereby DOST scholars can apply for career opportunities within the network of the Council.”
The forms of cooperation under the MOU include information exchange on industry development initiatives, research programs, science-based decision making, international approaches to transparency, standards-setting, technology regulation and technology transfer support. Furthermore, the memorandum encourages commercialization of research through start-up initiatives such as incubation and market needs assessment. Small and medium-sized enterprises will benefit from support in marketing and branding guidance, technology adoption, and connectivity.
By: Louie Intalan, DOST-ITCU
