Website targets commercialization of DOST technologies

By Alexander Villafania INQUIRER.net MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Science and Technology last week activated an online portal designed to promote commercially viable technologies from Filipino scientists and researches. The One-Stop-Information Shop of Technologies in the Philippines is an online database of over 280 technologies, inventions, and process improvements that can be used by small-to-medium scale businesses, manufacturing operators and other industries. The OSIST project cost P20 million and was funded through the e-Government fund of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology. It is currently operated through the Philippine Council for Industry and Energy Research and Deveopment (PCIERD). In an interview, PCIERD Head of Technology Assessment Utilization and Transfer Albert Marino said the OSIST hopes to bring entrepreneurs to develop certain inventions and technologies to improve their own business, as well as generate business for the technology developers and inventors. While only 280 technologies are available, Mariño said about 50 others are being validated for commercial viability. These are also categorized according to industry, such as energy, food, agriculture, textile, information technology, health transportation and process. Each technology's information, as well as the contact of the developers, are included in the site, to allow businessmen and potential development partners to talk directly to the developers. Mariño said there are plans to transfer the website to the DOST's Technology Application and Promotion Institute. He said the DOST is planning a series of regional activities to promote the use of OSIST and also to inform technology developers to use the site to disseminate their own technologies.