TRC to boost dev't of local technology

MABALACAT, Pampanga, Philippines – Technology Resource Center (TRC) Director General Dennis Cunanan said his agency is embarking next year on a program to develop local technology in the manufacture of train coaches, power-generating windmills and industrial cranes, among other products.

The TRC is also pursuing “innovative solutions” to the country’s problems, including the manufacture of a mosquito trap to counter the dengue menace, a locally made computer tablet to “revolutionize the public education system,” and a cost-effective “health sachet” to address the malnutrition problem, Cunanan said.

In a recent press briefing here, Cunanan said these efforts are in line with President Aquino’s call to make the country globally competitive in technology.

“We want to tap local resources as much as possible in our manufactured products,” he said.

Cunanan said the TRC has already collaborated with key agencies of the government and the private sector to boost local technology to manufacture train coaches, power-generating windmills, and industrial cranes “with the use of inexpensive, Philippine indigenous materials.”

He said the program is within the context of TRC’s upgraded functions as spelled out by Secretary Mario Montejo of the Department of Science and Technology, the TRC’s parent agency.

Montejo earlier had announced that the DOST is delving into “innovative technology solutions to help boost the economy and provide for the technological needs of the country.”

“In the hope of expediting the realization of these pursuits, the DOST coursed them through the TRC for the advantages of TRC’s being corporate in nature,” he said.

TRC is a government-owned and controlled corporation known for its role in disseminating a variety of livelihood technologies through hands-on training and its multimedia strategies.

The TRC has been engaged in such pivotal projects as bio-organic fertilizers, as well as in maintaining so-called “techno centers” in various provinces.

Recently, the DOST also tasked the TRC to build, manage and operate the highly successful Technology Business Incubator in close coordination with other government agencies. Located at UP Diliman, Quezon City, the facility is now home to pre-screened young entrepreneurs who venture into open source technology-oriented businesses.

To further promote innovation and technology for business and other applications, the TRC has also been hosting the annual Technology Partnering Forum since last year.

The event showcases over a hundred successful entrepreneurial ventures, and gather together enterprising citizens looking for business or technology partners, emerging trends and unique opportunities to innovate their existing enterprises.

The project also includes trade fairs, technology symposia and youth business idea contests.