Ateneo de Manila University is contributing its research and innovation expertise to a national effort aimed at helping Philippine universities transition their research into technologies, products, industries, and communities.
The Ateneo recently took part in institutional benchmarking for the Innovation Blueprint of Higher Education in the Philippines, a research project spearheaded by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and implemented by the University of Southeastern Philippines (USeP). Findings from the Ateneo will contribute to an Institutional Case Study Report that identifies practices that may be replicated or scaled across Philippine higher education.
This extensive nationwide CHED-IBP study—spanning multiple universities and higher education institutions across the country—seeks to develop a data-driven, evidence-based roadmap for strengthening the country’s research and innovation ecosystem. It examines six areas: discovery, technology development, product development, technology transfer, funding structures, and the innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem. The benchmarking methodology also calls for discussions with university leaders, research and technology-transfer officials, deans, innovation and incubation managers, faculty researchers and innovators, as well as industry and government partners.
The Ateneo was selected as one of the key higher education institutions whose policies, governance structures, programs, and practices can provide evidence on how research and innovation operate under actual Philippine conditions. The CHED-IBP delegation directly engaged the Ateneo’s research and innovation ecosystem through institutional presentations, interviews, discussions, and visits to relevant facilities.
The CHED-IBP delegation was led by Dr. Rec E. Eguia, Project Leader; together with Study Leaders Dr. James Jade S. Lasquites, Dr. Mildin J. Retutas, Dr. Rey A. Castillo, Dr. Ariel L. Reyes, and Dr. Filmann T. Simpao; Research Associates Michael John L. Galendez and Ana L. Pantonial; and Administrative Assistant Jerell Paden.
Representing the Ateneo were Dr. Filomeno Aguilar Jr., Assistant Vice President for Research, Creative Work, and Innovation; Dr. Proceso Fernandez Jr., Director of the Ateneo Intellectual Property Office; Dr. Maria Leonora Guico, Executive Director of the Ateneo Research Institute of Science and Engineering; Dr. Lea Macaraig, Director of the Ateneo Innovation Center; and Dr. Jose Mario Diaz, Research Coordinator of the School of Science and Engineering. Their participation brought to the table key aspect of the University’s research and innovation ecosystem, from knowledge generation and interdisciplinary research to intellectual property, technology transfer, and the development of new technologies and solutions.
For the Ateneo, participation in the CHED-IBP provides an opportunity to examine the University’s own strengths, gaps, and opportunities as the national innovation framework takes shape.
“The steady growth of our international and local collaborations has never been by compulsion, but by attraction. You make an ecosystem that naturally encourages people to do their work. It doesn’t happen overnight but in time,” Dr. Aguilar noted.
Ultimately, these findings are expected to inform concrete policy recommendations and the proposed CHED Innovation Blueprint, which seeks to provide Philippine universities with a clearer pathway from idea generation to deployment and commercialization while allowing each institution to develop its own innovation niches and flagship programs.
