Innovation is the lifeblood of today’s rapidly changing and globalizing environment. Ideas, both old and new, are being applied at unprecedented rates toward better solutions that meet new requirements and unarticulated needs, or bridge existing market gaps.
Innovation is as much a process as an attitude that emphasizes greater efficiency and effectiveness, making its impact even in the most mundane of tasks and things.
The week starting on February 19 has been declared Philippine Innovation Week to gear the general public to this new reality. Bannered by the theme, “Innovation for Learning and Development,” this weeklong event is jointly celebrated by the Benita and Catalino Yap Foundation (BCYF), the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and Sycip, Gorres and Velayo.
“I am pleased to support any initiative that highlights the importance of innovation in dealing with the challenges and uncertainties of the present, wherein change is the norm,” Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peñzza said.
“The Philippine Innovation Week dovetails with the DOST’s advocacy toward harnessing the forces that will enable us to use our collective S&T [science and technology] talent on the road to national growth and the buildup of our technological capability,” he added.
For his part, BCYF Chairman Antonio S. Yap emphasized the key importance of education and higher learning as the foundation for the country’s innovation system. “The country’s most important resource is its people, and the sooner they are trained and immersed to become innovative and forward-looking, the better our country’s chances in catching up with the rest of the developed world,” Yap said. S&T Media Service Events include the PIW Innovation Forum on February 19, the main kickoff activity to be held at the DOST-PHIVOLCS Auditorium in Diliman. Leading proponents of innovation will discuss topics from education, government and the private sector.