The Department of Science and Technology-Forest Products Research and Development Institute (DOST-FPRDI) launched Monday, July 5, the state-of-the art Technovation Hub, which seeks to benefit entrepreneurs venturing on furniture, woodcraft, housing and bamboo musical instruments production.
The launch of the hub is part of the FPRDI’s 64th anniversary celebration from July 5 -9 with the theme “Pagbangon at Pag-asa sa Panahon ng Pandemya”.
Technovation Hub features three of its newest facilities: the Forest Products Innovation and Training Center, the Bamboo Musical Instruments (BMI) Processing Center, and the Forest Products Technology Business Incubator (TBI).
"These technology innovation facilities being launched today are a reflection of your sense of adventure. Instead of settling for the status quo and serving your clients using the traditional methods and equipment you had relied on for so many years, you thought of something new,” DOST Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña said in his message during the Technovation Hub launch on Monday.
"You decided to build these facilities to serve your clients with greater sharpness and precision, and help them survive, and even thrive in today’s complex and very, very challenging world... which brings me to my piece of advice for all of us here today. As members of the science community, let us do everything we can to keep the Spirit of Adventure alive in our hearts,” he added.
He thanked the FPRDI management and researchers for their commitment to your clients in the forest-based and related industries, as he urged them to continue cultivating a “spirit of adventure, a childlike sense of wonder, as well an unlimited passion for knowledge, and greater possibilities” amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
“Together, these are the fuel that will propel us to keep on learning, to keep on asking, and to keep on thinking of better ways of doing things – no matter how young or old we are. And in these difficult days of the COVID pandemic, let us not forget that our countrymen are in dire need of every kind of meaningful contribution we can make as a science community,” he said.
DOST-FPRDI Director Dr. Romulo T. Aggangan said the hub facilities can be accessed by businesses venturing into furniture, handicraft, housing and bamboo musical instruments production, among others.
"We believe that with innovation and R&D support, small enterprises can sustain their growth and be more competitive here and abroad,” Aggangan said.
He said the hub aims to upscale the capacity of the wood and non-wood forest-based industries and make them “more efficient and competitive”.
One of the key features of the hub is the BMI Processing Center, which seeks to assist the local creative industry.
The center is part of the BMI Innovation Research and Development Program, which uses science to improve the processing, durability, aesthetics and sound quality of select BMIs, the FPRDI said.
Through the BMI Processing Center, current BMI producers and emerging business ventures can adopt FPRDI-developed technologies on instrument-making.
The Institute cited the importance of bamboo musical instruments, saying that it is “more than a source of livelihood” and it serves as “vessels of our national identity.”