Partners in Innovation: Ateneo, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry renew synergistic collaboration

Last Saturday, July 23, the Ateneo de Manila University and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) signed an agreement to once again renew their partnership for another year. The signing ceremony was held in on the university campus and was attended by members from PCCI and the Ateneo Intellectual Property Office (AIPO).

Under this agreement, Ateneo de Manila, through AIPO, would provide its expertise in intellectual property and business development for novel technologies to PCCI. Aspiring innovators who participate in PCCI events will have the opportunity to access AIPO’s resources and services to protect and further develop their technologies. Likewise, the technologies incubated by AIPO under The Blue Nest Program will have the opportunity to be showcased to PCCI’s network.

Since 2019, Ateneo de Manila, through AIPO, and PCCI have actively collaborated to ensure that innovative technologies and ideas are provided the support that they need to have a good chance at intellectual property protection and commercialization. Some technologies that have benefitted from this collaboration include Pili Seal and Greentech EcoBooster. Pili Seal is an affordable, thermoresistant, organic-based sealant derived from pili tree resin and has applications in the aviation industry. It has won multiple awards and recognitions from prestigious bodies such as the Dyson Foundation and the World Intellectual Property Organization. Greentech Ecobooster is a breakthrough aerodynamic fuel nozzle that enables more efficient fuel combustion, resulting in significant increases to the fuel economy of motorcycles and substantial reduction in emission of gasses harmful to the environment. It has gained significant interest from motorcycle communities, logistics businesses and even tricycle operators and drivers associations. These two technologies, through the crucial assistance from AIPO, now have pending patents in the Philippines and will soon have patent applications in selected countries that could be strategic choices for technology commercialization. 

Additionally, last year’s Alfredo M. Yao (AMY) Intellectual Property Competition grand prize winner sponsored by PCCI was Exora Technologies, a digital energy monitoring and procurement solution application platform incubated by AIPO which is owned and developed by our very own Ateneo students even before they graduated from their respective courses. Thus far, Exora has achieved significant market traction after having delivered power savings of over Php 70 Million to over 40 contestable customers.   

The continued partnership between Ateneo de Manila and PCCI is expected to bring forth more innovative technologies and ideas that will benefit society. Through the successful protection and commercialization of these innovations, it is hoped that inventors would fully enjoy the benefits of their creative work, be incentivized to develop ingenious solutions to other societal challenges, and be able to inspire a new generation of innovators, too.

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The AIPO is a university-based hub where innovative solutions are inspired, protected and made available through rendering various types of programs and activities. To know more about the office and its services, you may visit: www.aipo.ateneo.edu.