Filipinnovation

I have always been a believer in the can-do spirit of Filipinos. We do have many innovative ideas on how to achieve development. Yet somehow and somewhere along the road to progress, we seem encounter setbacks after setbacks. Still we move on.

We have great thinkers and policy makers. We have good engineers and scientists. We also have bureaucrats with good intentions. And there are the private citizens who are willing to serve the country. Among them are the people who came up with Filipinnovation initiative.

Filipinnovation is simply a catchword referring to the strategy adopted by both government and private sector to make the Philippines an innovation hub. It aims, according to the Department of Science and Technology, "to increase industry productivity, to ensure an innovative environment, and to shape the national mind-set for a competitive innovation agenda."

The strategy is now on its third year of implementation. In support of this project, IBM Philippines opened recently its "Innovation Center" at its building in the UP-Ayala Land TechnoHub located right near the University of the Philippines Campus in Quezon City.

Another project of the Filipinnovation initiative is the launching of the electronic version of its magazine which will chronicle progress on the four major aspects of innovation namely: human capital, business incubation and acceleration, public policies, and the Filipino mindset.

More on this undertaking at Manila Bulletin.