The Department of Science and Technology Philippines Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development enters the Finals of the prestigious international science engagement competition Falling Walls Engage 2021 for its science communication social media campaign Pinoy Science in partnership with TikTok.

Out of the 189 competitors from around the world, DOST PCIEERD is among the Top 50 Finalists in the international tilt and will be vying to be included in the Top 20 winners which will be selected by the Fallings Walls Advisory Board composed of renowned scientists, communicators, and consultants with a variety of backgrounds and a shared expertise in the evaluation of science engagement projects. This will be announced on August 18 to 23, 2021. From the Top 20 winners, a Breakthrough of the Year will be selected during the Falling Walls Conference in November 2021.

The partnership between DOST-PCIEERD and TikTok was forged in 2021 to promote science and technology specifically through the Pinoy Science TikTok account.

Through the collaboration, Filipinos were trained to use the social media platform for science communication, Filipino-made technologies were promoted, and hashtag contests such as the #PinoyInnovator challenge was conducted.

“We thank Falling Walls for this recognition, and we share this award with the game-changing innovations that our researchers come up with and share in this innovative platform.  We thank TikTok for this partnership and giving us a channel to share to the world Filipino ingenuity,” DOST-PCIEERD Executive Director Enrico C. Paringit said.

The Top 20 winners of the Falling Walls Engage Competition will get a chance to present their project on stage of the Falling Walls Conference in front of an international audience of global leaders in science, politics, business, and the media, which will also be the first in-person gathering since the pandemic erupted. This will take place in Berlin, Germany from November 7 to 9, 2021 on the anniversary of the historic fall of the Berlin Wall.

Falling Walls Engage is the global platform for science engagement, hosted by the Falling Walls Foundation in cooperation with the Robert Bosch Stiftung, which aims to provide a better understanding and public involvement in science that can help tackle global societal challenges through fact-based decision-making and contribute to the overall wellbeing of the society.

As the pandemic halted the physical classroom setup type of learning, Filipino innovators showcased on Tuesday 13 projects that would help students cope with remote learning in an engaging way.

Various resource speakers hailing from different institutions, agencies, organizations, and the academe shared their new projects during the third leg of the Science and Innovation Budding Opportunities for Leverage (SIBOL) webinar series organized by the Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD).

These are the following projects:

1. Resilient Education Information Infrastructure for the New Normal (REIINN);
2. Development of Framework and Materials for Distance and Remote Learning via Datacasting;
3. Mathematical Resources for Distance Learning Utilizing Community LTE Networks and Television Frequencies;
4. Establishment of the PRR-1 Subcritical Assembly for Training, Education and Research (SATER);
5. Diachronic Representation and Linguistic Study of Filipino Word Senses Across Social and Digital Media Contexts;
6. Philippine Science Centrum Travelling Exhibits;
7. The Design, Implementation, and Analysis of a Digital/Mobile Game-based Learning Tool for Primary and Secondary Education;
8. Education Game for Chemistry in the Senior High School and Junior High School sectors of Baguio City;
9. Augmented Reality-based Lesson for the Improvement of Learning Achievement in Cell Biology for the STEM Curriculum;
10. Physics Simulator Mobile Game;
11. Game-based Learning Platform for Social Studies; Nurturing Interest in STEM Among Filipino Learners Using Minecraft;
12. Development of Plasma Coating Process for the Furniture Industry; Cultural Adaptive Mapping Platform using Mixed Reality; and
13. Augmented Reality-based Gamified Local Tourism and Cultural Heritage Promotion and Preservation.

“The global health crisis has pushed the Department of Education (DepEd) to implement emergency online education (EOE) and emergency remote education (ERE) which are crisis response terms for online or remote instruction during an emergency. Filipino educators taught students through multiple learning delivery modalities such as distance learning and blended learning, either on top of—or in place of face-to-face learning. Classes were done through various video conferencing software like Zoom and Google meet. Moreover, to help learners, parents, and teachers implement these learning delivery modalities, Self-Learning Modules (SLMs) were made available in print and offline and online digital formats,” DOST-PCIEERD Executive Director Dr. Enrico C. Paringit said in his speech.

“These strategies have underscored the need for us to integrate emerging technologies into our education system in order to strengthen modes of instruction and keep students interested and engaged. We are also optimistic that leveraging leading edge technologies and platforms will help us overcome the challenges in distance, the evolving needs for learning, and to continuing threats posed by the pandemic.” he added.

The SIBOL webinar series is a monthly presentation to the public of new projects and programs that DOST-PCIEERD is funding and create awareness on the promising new projects and their potential impact to the society.

In an aim to eradicate the dependence on single-use plastics in the Philippines, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) together with different agencies and institutions have joined forces to find better alternatives to these products while also providing solutions and opportunities to industries.

Hosted by the DOST -Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD), the Joint Conference on Environment-Friendly Alternative Plastics is a pioneering effort to address the single-use plastic problem through a whole-of-government approach in dealing with the issue.  

In collaboration with the Department of Finance (DOF), Climate Change Commission (CCC), and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the government agencies seek to provide alternatives to single-use plastics in the market and accelerate the search for substitutes through research and development.  

“We need to move forward and find a more environmentally sustainable alternative to plastic and by stepping up our efforts through research and development as well as a whole of government approach, I believe that we can achieve this,” DOST Secretary Fortunato T. dela Peña said.  

DOF Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez, who is concurrent CCC Chairperson-Designate, has stressed the urgency of adopting a national policy banning single-use plastics as the Philippines' concrete contribution to the global effort to stop the unbridled plastics pollution of the world's oceans.

Dominguez has described as a "national shame" the results of an international study that put seven of our country's rivers on the Top 10 list of plastic polluters of oceans.

“We need to be innovative and creative. It is high time for the government, industries, businesses, and advocates to work together to develop better alternatives. By not consuming plastics, our people will be able to do their part on a daily basis in saving the world’s environment,” Dominguez said.

Studies show that plastics continue to be a pervasive material in the country,  being a “sachet economy” that utilizes  the “tingi”  retail system employed in the market. Plastic is  mainly used in grocery stores, as packaging material, in construction,  and a lot more due to it being cheap, strong, and extremely versatile.

Members of the industry who make use of single-use plastics also joined the conference to air their side and explain the significance of such products,  and how alternatives will impact the market and the lives of those who depend on their use.

As part of resolving the issues on plastics, DOST-PCIEERD also unveiled various DOST R&D Initiatives for the Green Economy. 

DOST Executive Director Dr. Enrico Paringit has expressed his support for a harmonized pursuit in protecting the environment through research, development, and innovations.

"As we gear towards achieving environmental sustainability by substituting single-use plastics with ecologically neutral alternatives, we shall put out more efforts to collaborate with our partners in government, the academe and the industry to ensure that we will come up with viable solutions to address the challenges brought by single-plastics use," he said.

SCIENCE COMMUNICATION FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM 

DOST-PCIEERD, in partnership with UPLB College of Development Communication, calls on its project personnel to join the Science Communication Fellowship Program: Popularizing Research for the People. This program aims to train the participants in popularizing research results through a mentorship program. 

The following topics will be covered in a four-month long mentorship:  

1. Science communication in the context of nation building through research and innovation 
2. Writing in different platforms for dissemination of research results 
3. Engaging with the media and local stakeholders 
4. Data visualization 

The program will employ a combination of synchronous and asynchronous sessions for at least eight (8) hours a month. The Fellowship Program will run from mid-September 2021 to January 2022.

To qualify, you must be a:  

• Part of a PCIEERD-supported program/project with remaining duration/contract of at least six (6) months 
• Personnel from completed projects may opt to join provided that the project is still being sustained in their organization 
• A Technical Officer and Information Officer for the program/project 

Read the full Guidelines. 

Apply now! Go to bit.ly/PCIEERDxCDCSciComm. 

Towns and cities majorly affected by the continued restiveness of Taal Volcano would soon receive a helping hand as researchers from the University of the Philippines Diliman are set to deploy air quality monitors in their area.

Robust Optical Aerosol Monitor (ROAM) Air Quality Monitor units from Project ROAM is set to be deployed to the communities of Agoncillo in the Province of Batangas and Tagaytay and Alfonso in the Province of Cavite.

ROAM Air Quality Monitor, the first Filipino-made air quality monitor, was created to measure particulate matter in the air using mass concentration measurement. Through the leadership of Dr. Len Herald V. Lim, the group was able to develop high-quality PM 2.5 monitors that are low-cost compared to its commercial counterparts. 

It was designed specifically to look for ways to reduce the effects of air pollution in communities and workplaces and was developed in partnership with the Department of Science and Technology - Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD). 

ROAM which was initially developed to provide information for policy creation and programs for environmental protection, can now aid residents from the three Local Government Units (LGUs). 

According to Levi Guillermo L. Geganzo of Project ROAM, they are currently discussing the plan to deploy the units with the three LGUs. The researchers are also in talks with the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) to help them with their regular monitoring.

Geganzo also said that while there are already many interested organizations to adopt their technology, the team is still working on their commercialization strategy.

DOST PCIEERD Executive Director Dr. Enrico Paringit lauded the move of the group and encouraged other local government units to partner with ROAM in putting up air quality monitors in their area.  

“We thank the Project ROAM team for heeding the call of the times and making innovations work for the people.  As a leader and partner in enabling innovations in the Philippines, we enjoin our local government units to collaborate with our researchers in finding solutions in making our air cleaner through technologies brought about by research and development,” he said.