CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, Aug.30 (PNA) — The Department of Science and Technology (DOST), through its Technology Application and Promotion Institute, opened Thursday its two-day 2013 Regional Invention Contest and Exhibits (RICE) here.
The RICE featured various researches and inventions created by student inventors from the seven provinces in Central Luzon, namely Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales.
DOST regional director Victor Mariano said the contest serves as means of providing encouragement and recognition to the inventors in the form of a competition.
“Winners may be recognized in the forms of assistance and promotional support. These inventions might change and promote the livelihood of the investors,” Mariano said.
With the theme “Inventions and Innovations for Smarter Philippines”, inventors compete in six categories, namely: invention (tuklas award), utility model, industrial design, creative research (likha award), student creative research (sibol award) for high school, and student creative research (sibol award) for college.
Entries to the Tuklas category are inventions with existing patents/registration granted by the Intellectual Property Office-Philippines (IPOPHIL) while entries to the Likha category are patent pending inventions or registration pending utility models/industrial designs.
Moreover, entries to the Sibol categories are school-based innovative machines/gadgets, products, or processes.
Winners automatically qualify to next year’s national invention contests and exhibits.
Apart from the contest proper and exhibits, there will also be a seminar on intellectual property rights as well as a two-day Invent School Program for students where they cultivate talent discovery and invention. (PNA)
LAM/ZST/MDDR/PS