DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/06 October) — Filipino ingenuity is developed when young inventors and innovators are given chances to dream and to develop ideas.
When given platforms to showcase their works and given due acknowledgement for their vivid imaginations, a culture of inventiveness is developed that elevates learning and love for science to a whole new level.
Szara Antao (second from left), 16, led her classmatesin assembling an ultraviolet box as a hand sanitizer. This group from Digos City National High School harness UVA rays using UV LED bulbs to kill bacteria and viruses. Jesse Pizarro Boga
The more than 50 science projects by students showcased in the activity area of NCCC Mall of Davao last Thursday is a testament to this.
With the theme “Philippines: A Science Nation Innovating and Inventing for Global Competitiveness,” the 2015 Regional Invention Contest and Exhibits (RICE) hosted by the Technology Application and Promotion Institute and the Department of Science and Technology in the region ensured that young inventors and innovators are in the spotlight for their genius.
Winners in the exhibit will receive cash prizes and will represent the region in next year’s National Invention Contest and Exhibits.
BS agricultural engineering graduate Allan Paul Salutillo (rightmost), 22, guides three students from the University of Southeastern Philippines (USEP) in Tagum to make an electric coconut dehusker. The group is also mentored by the dean of USEP’s college of agriculture and related sciences Dr. Roger Montepio. MindaNews photo by Jesse Pizarro Boga
The activity center was filled with booths that represented various categories that demonstrate ingenuity: Outstanding Invention (Tuklas Award), Outstanding Utility Model, Outstanding Industrial Design, Outstanding Creative Research (Likha Award), Outstanding Student Creative Research (Sibol Award) for High School and College.
DOST-XI regional director Anthony Sales encouraged students to bring out their researches from the library and into the community so that they can unlock the potential of these as solutions to real life or as business ventures.
An upcoming project of the DOST called Invent School is also in the works. This “borderless” type of school will aim to make the academes and learning institutions to be aware of the current supporting mechanisms of the government in terms of innovation and inventions. This will also train students and out-of-school youth alike to be more inventive and to explore ideas.
If this culture of inventiveness is strongly supported, generations of scientists will emerge. (Jesse Pizarro Boga/MindaNews)