Batangas State U eyes tech startup boom with KIST Park 'Ventures Hub'

The Knowledge, Innovation, and Science Technology (KIST) Park on June 19, 2024. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File 
   

BATANGAS CITY — The Batangas State University, dubbed The National Engineering University, is gearing up to be a pioneering destination for startup incubation programs.

The university said it also hopes to attract co-development research ventures with the establishment of a "Ventures Hub" within its Knowledge, Innovation, and Science Technology (KIST) Park.

BatStateU President Dr. Tirso Ronquillo led the launching of the first university-based special economic zone at the Batangas State University Alangilan Campus last June 19. 

The PEZA-registered facility will host local and international tech-based industry locators, which Ronquillo said will enable industry-academe collaboration and "boost a vibrant technology ecosystem".

Among the programs it would offer include incubation and acceleration programs for startups, government and institutional support, knowledge and product co-creations, and capacity building programs.

Aside from this, the park would provide in-house and strategic spaces for the locators from different companies.

Ronquillo said the Ventures Hub ensures “that even the locators can easily access our talents, research labs, and our facilities in time.” 

“Mayroon tayong courses now on technopreneurship. We teach our students to be technopreneurs. Students can immerse themselves with these locators, so that they know how to really develop a product,” he added.

In his speech, Ronquillo reflected on KIST Park’s journey from its establishment as a vision, which he said signals the institution's preparedness “to empower the next generation of tech entrepreneurs and fuel economic growth by turning their visions into thriving businesses that will drive the Philippine economy forward.”

Beyond Classrooms & Academe

As the “National Engineering University” in the country, the institution embraces the significance of knowledge sharing with their students and faculty members.

“What we are doing here is for our students. We want our students to be well-creators. Using our science laboratories, technopreneurship processes, and [by] teaching them commercialization and incubation. Ultimately, that’s [what] we envision for our students,” Ronquillo said.

The institution adds, they want their students to potentially be employers and product developers someday.

   Modular locator spaces located within the KIST Park. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File

BatStateU is planning to finish the construction of the KIST Park in the next 300 days and can be readily available to be used by the locators by 2026. 

Ronquillo noted the institution’s strong relationship with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and its role in their commitment to foster innovation. 

“DOST is helping us [to] promote our KIST Park. We really wish this will be promoted not only to venture capitalists or startups, but even to other institutions. I know this will not be confined [to] Batangas province. This must reach the national level [and] this must reach a global stage," he said.

While it might take some time to further establish connections outside the province, Ronquillo is more optimistic about the progress that they are making. 

"It entails years because of the availability of [the] resources. The presence of our partners [like] the DOST, can help us accelerate this development,” he added.

From local to international

   Co-founders of the SunEtrike with a model unit of their three-wheeler e-tricycle. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File

 A Philippine-based startup founded by Canadian developers in 2015 is one of the locators that participated in the exhibition. 

Allan Gray, one of the founders of ‘SunEtrike’, a commercial tricycle fleet that uses solar panels, said joining the event allowed them to learn from professionals who do research and development programs.

“There’s a lot of good potential here. A lot of the startup scenes that we’ve been seeing around Manila have been very software-intensive. We like that we’re working on the power electronics and batteries and doing the more hardware and capital-intensive kind of work,” he said.

The KIST Park offers substantial government incentives, including income tax holidays, VAT zero-rating, and streamlined business registration, which creates an ideal environment for startups and technology-based industries.

DOST is collaborating closely with the institution to ensure that the ventures can seamlessly transition from research and development to market-ready solutions, enhancing facilities for knowledge sharing, said Assistant Secretary Napoleon Juanillo of the DOST's Technology Transfer, Communications, and Commercialization (DOST-TTCC) unit. 

“The DOST is all behind the BatStateU. They play [a] critical role in ensuring that the solutions or the products… that they’re presenting to the local or global market are… scientifically robust.

"We look towards the best of the best universities in the country to really showcase products that cannot be questioned for their scientific or engineering integrity,” Juanillo said.