NORSU ITSO Bags IPOPHL Platinum Award
Article by Precious Anne Canasa
Negros Oriental State University (NORSU) received its first-ever Platinum Award from the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) during the annual Innovative and Technology Support Office (ITSO) 2.0 Clustering Awards at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati City, March 18.
The annual ITSO 2.0 clustering awards recognized organizations, including State University Colleges (SUCs), Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), and Research and Development Institutions (RDIs) that meet specific deliverables.
The award categories range from silver to gold, with the highest accolade being platinum, which NORSU received.
The university earned recognition for filing seven invention patents, successfully commercializing at least one creation, integrating 12 foundation courses and incorporating Intellectual Property (IP) into the university’s curriculum, conducting two patent search and drafting trainings, and delivering 24 patent search services, showcasing its dedication to innovation and intellectual property education.
NORSU ITSO Director Dr. Johann Heinrich Malongo personally accepted the award and credits teamwork and collaboration among all faculties and support from the administration as instrumental in achieving this accolade.
“People will shy away when you say ‘research’. I’m thankful that there are faculty members that are into research and that we have technology adapters.”
Malongo, who has served as ITSO Director since December 2019, secured three consecutive awards and aims to leverage this recognition to foster additional innovation and intellectual property development within the institution and the broader community.
“We are starting to venture on Copyright, by encouraging faculties to create modules to make it easier for students’ learning. Other than that, we have lots of formulated food technology. We can promote the product ourselves instead of relying on technology transfer. The case is, we have the product; however we don’t have the means to mass produce it, so we end up passing it to other entrepreneurs,” Malongo said.
He also emphasized the vital role of disseminating information and promoting office exposure both within the university and throughout Negros Oriental.
“I don’t think the whole university, including [the] satellite campus — I don’t think 100% of them knows the existence of ITSO. It’s high time that we publicize these recognitions, not to boast, but to increase exposure so we can reach a wider audience.”
This initiative aims to assist Micro-, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in recognizing the presence of ITSO at NORSU, prompting them to seek assistance for innovations to harness greater profits while also fueling university growth through royalty contributions.
