There has been a notion that a weak link exists between the academe and research institutions, and the industry in the Philippines, making the results of the academe’s research and development (R&D) not aligned with the needs of the industry.

This is now being addressed with the creation of Collaborative R&D to Leverage Philippine Economy (Cradle) Program by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

Cradle aims to provide a partnership between the academe and industry in order to align R&D with the needs of the industry, and help Filipino companies innovate, said Undersecretary Rowena Cristina Guevara at the “Cradle innovates industries through R&D” forum at the Technological Institute of the Philippines (TIP) in Quezon City on Thursday.

Guevara said that as of 2019, there are 24 projects, valued at a total of P110 million that were funded by DOST in universities and R&D institutions for Filipino companies all over the country.

She added that the program helps “foster collaborations between the academe and Filipino companies to develop competitiveness and innovation” by facilitating the “smooth transition of new technologies from universities and R&D institutes to industries,” or from laboratory to market.

Cradle serves a specific local company with an R&D problem. It assists the company by finding a partner university or a research and development institute equipped with experts who can solve the problem and the facility to undertake the R&D.

The program gives companies the opportunity to upgrade, expand and become more competitive in business through R&D.

Among its interventions were the sambong project of Pascual Pharma Corp. and the egg business of Batangas Egg Producers Cooperative (Bepco).

Aiming to standardize the therapeutic application of sambong plants through artificial intelligence, Pascual Pharma sought the expertise of the TIP in 2017. The project’s output will help the company innovate and improve the agricultural practices and the extraction process of sambong.

Bepco partnered with the University of the Philippines Diliman to solve its problem in the oversupply of eggs during summer leading to low price. UPD will develop egg white powder and granules from eggs, which can be used for baking purposes. The project will help the company in developing a new product.

Guevara said that besides TIP and Pascual Laboratories, and UPD and Bepco, among other partnerships created under Cradle are between the following:

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