In its effort to intensify the commercialization of its knowledge and technologies for the intended stakeholders, the College of Agriculture and Food Science (CAFS) held a webinar titled “Research with Impact: CAFS Road to Technology Transfer and Adoption” on September 15 via Zoom.

In his welcome remarks, Dean Elpidio M. Agbisit, Jr. stated that CAFS is a source of knowledge and technologies but admittedly, it lacks transfer of these technologies to the intended users. He added that when we start developing these technologies what we have in mind is to solve the agriculture’s pressing problem and make an impact and this can be done through partnering with other institutions to explore the effects of development. He lauded the UPLB Technology Transfer and Business Development Office (TTBDO) for their willingness to assist CAFS in this engagement. He also reminded the researchers to  bear in mind that commercialization does not equate in making profit but a means to know whether we have an impact to our society.

In his recorded message, Chancellor Jose V. Camacho, Jr. remarked that as a national university, our work does not stop when our experiment are concluded and the results are published in peer reviewed journals. “If we are to provide agile leadership for our country’s higher education institutions and SUCs, we must go beyond. We should think at how our research and its results benefit the stakeholders and communities that truly need it”, he stressed.  He also stated that economic recovery from the pandemic alongside a looming crisis  in food security has moved agricultural and food science  research high up on the list of the world’s priorities. He then enjoined the researchers to grasp the opportunity and ensure that UPLB’s research is not only pioneering but also practical, relevant and accessible to the public through UPLB’s techno hub and one stop shop. Finally, he enjoined the participants  to share their perspectives and experiences, work together and make UPLB’s agricultural and food science products not just on the map but occupy center stage.

Dr. Nathaniel C. Bantayan, vice-chancellor for Research and Extension (OVCRE) in his message stressed that it is imperative to bring the research output where it can be used and marketed to bring ease to the agriculture and fishery sector in particular. Further, because of the pandemic, the products of agriculture that the country  depends on from overseas are not coming anymore. Hence, there is a need to pivot local agriculture. Finally, he said that as the national university, UPLB has the role in bringing all those technology outputs in the markets or to the industry.

Meanwhile, Dr. Gonzalo C. Serafica, consultant at UP System TTBDO gave an insight of what are the challenges and most importantly the opportunities that are going to be encountered once UPLB commits itself to the road to perform technology transfer.

On the other hand, Dr. Luis G. Sison, director of UP System TTBDO presented the programs being offered by their office including incentives to researchers when they engage themselves with the process of technology transfer.

Dr. Emil John C. Cabrera, director of UPLB TTBDO presented the unit’s initiatives for commercialization of UPLB technologies including its mandate and programs. He emphasized that the activity of TTBDO does not stop in research and development. Its end goal is to commercialize the technologies. With CAFS having produced 100 matured technologies, Dr. Cabrera hoped that CAFS could come up with at least 20 commercialized technologies that would serve as milestone for CAFS.

To orient the researchers, Ms. Aina Angeline Buan, intellectual property officer at UPLB TTBDO discussed about the topic, “Intellectual Property Rights Application and other Technology Transfer Assistance”. She explained that technology transfer process seemed simple because the representation is overly simplified but every component in the process have different sub-processes. She added that the process is complicated that is the reason why TTBDO is around to assist the researchers in translating their products into a useful product that can ripple up to its intended users.

The webinar was conducted under the new chair of the CAFS Webinar Committee and Associate Dean for Research and Extension, Dr. Lilia Fernando-Corpuz. (IMGesmundo)