The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) will unveil its 21 high impact technologies and game-changing research and development (R&D) projects on Sept. 7.
The technologies and R&D projects that will be launched are in the following areas: health and nutrition, industry competitiveness, enterprise development, disaster management and risk reduction, education, and agriculture, DOST-Science and Technology Information Institute (STII) said in a statement posted on its Facebook page on Wednesday.
The DOST-STII cited the agency’s unwavering commitment to find practical solutions that will help all Filipinos surpass the challenges posed by coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
DOST Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña said the 21 technologies, projects, and R&D initiatives dubbed as “Big 21” aim to ease the plight of Filipino even after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We already envisioned the changes imminent to creating collective value for our people and our communities using science, technology, and innovation much earlier, even without COVID-19 yet, and this made us future-ready as we intensified our efforts in developing solutions to current problems involving health, food security, livelihood enhancement and utilizing emerging technologies towards a better normal,” he said in a statement.
Included in the list of “Big 21” technologies, and R&D projects are the following:
-Nutritional genomics of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI);
-the Biosafety Level 2+ Laboratory for the Virology and Vaccine Institute of the Philippines or the VIP;
-Virgin Coconut Oil as adjunct therapy for COVID-19;
-the NICER Projects on Smart Water Infrastructure Management (SWIM) Research and Development Center in Region II and the Center for Sustainable Polymers in Region X;
- the Advanced Manufacturing Center (AMCen) as a hub for additive manufacturing or 3D printing;
-the Advanced Mechatronics, Robotics, and Industrial Automation Laboratory or AMERIAL;
-the Spectral Acceleration Maps (SAM PH) Atlas, the latest probabilistic seismic hazard model developed by PHIVOLCS;
-the Establishment of Early Warning Systems and Observing Stations from PAGASA;
-the partnership of DOST with Coursera spearheaded by DOST-Caraga to provide free access to 3,800 courses offered by international universities online;
-the successful entrepreneurs under the Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program or SETUP 4.0 to align with the initiatives of the 4th Industrial Revolution;
-and the model communities under the Community Empowerment through Science and Technology program or CEST that has been expanded
DOST Undersecretary for Research and Development Dr. Rowena Cristina L. Guevara asked the public to be part of the Big 21 launch, even as she stressed that through science, technology, and innovation, the country can definitely move forward and adapt to the new normal.
“We invite you to create our own future by discovering our local technologies and new knowledge products with the Big 21 in 2021,” she said.
Similarly, we call on the government policymakers, technopreneurs, integrators and investors to share with us your ideas and resources so we can shape our future together as development partners,” she added.
The special launch of the “Big 21” will be aired live on Sept. 7 at 10 a.m. via Zoom and the DOST Philippines Facebook page.