AN Ideation, Design and Development Laboratory (IDD) is set to boost Laguna’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as it opens its doors with the inauguration of the Department of Science and Technology’s (DOST) Provincial Science and Technology Center (PSTC) Laguna last month.
The laboratory is PSTC Laguna’s main facility within the sprawling campus of the Laguna State Polytechnic University in San Pablo City, Laguna. Offering services in product development, design and prototyping, the IDD aims to become a creative hub for entrepreneurs, independent designers and students alike, where ideas and innovation are grown and given a chance to concretize with the aid of top-flight technologies for business enhancement. Promising projects by students, in particular, will be evaluated and tested in the center for commercialization potentials.
The IDD shores up its services by offering workshops in 3D printing and 3D CAD Design Software (Solid Edge Design Software) to DOST personnel, students and faculty members within and outside LSPU. According to PSTC Laguna Provincial Director Engr. Samuel L. Caperiña, availing themselves of these services translates to several benefits for MSMEs, such as increased sales, increased earnings, reduced cost and waste, greater efficiency and less energy.
“Design and innovation is a challenge not just in the private sector but also in the academic community,” said DOST IV-A Regional Director Alexander R. Madrigal during the inauguration held on the occasion of DOST IV-A’s 51st anniversary.
“It’s about time we catch up [with other countries] and start providing these ideation services to industries,” he said, citing the example of Singapore where innovation is vibrant, thus, allowing its industries to be globally competitive.
Madrigal added that in other countries, research and development activities are mostly lodged in academic institutions, hence, they decided to build the center inside LSPU.
PSTC Laguna ramps up preparations for Laguna-based businesses to be on a par with their counterparts in neighboring Southeast Asian countries once the Asean economic integration kicks in by December 2015.
Hon. Angelica Jones B. Alarva, board member of Laguna’s third district and chair of the provinces livelihood committee, expressed her support for PSTC Laguna as well as for DOST’s other projects for livelihood and industry in Laguna.