A multi-million peso fabrication laboratory (FabLab) collaboration between Silliman University and the Department of Trade & Industry-Negros Oriental is seen to benefit students and small businesses alike.
Dubbed as Sinergy Fab Lab, the digital laboratory is the first project in Negros Oriental under the DTI’s Shared Services Facility program where a private academic institution is given funding after the revision of the SSF guidelines this year.
DTI-Negros Oriental spokesperson Krystle Jade Bato said back then, the private sector was not qualified for the SSF program, and the Negros Oriental State University in this capital city was the first in the Province to receive the SSF grant for a FabLab last year.
The FabLab is an academe-industry-government collaboration where design ideas are translated into physical form through digital technology to enable small businesses to leverage their competitiveness in the market.
Anton Gabila, DTI-Negros Oriental’s senior trade-industry development specialist and program manager for Creatives, Startups & Digital Strategies, said the DTI has allocated P3.2 million for the equipment, while the SU counterpart includes the facility and staff, among other things.
“The project is undertaken through SU’s Technology Business Incubator where the technical and business aspects are fused,” Gabila said.
DTI has delivered the equipment for the Sinergy Lab, including Bambu Lab P1P three-dimensional printers, Einscan 3D scanner, vacuum-forming machine, Voltera printing circuit boards machine, and a print & cut machine for labels and stickers.
MSMEs can avail of the facility’s services, such as designing logos and stickers for their businesses, at a lower cost of as much as 30 percent, Gabila said.
Meanwhile, he added that the FabLab at Silliman will also be used for instruction, such as for engineering, industrial and product design.
The concept of Fab Labs was first introduced in the Philippines by Nanette Calumpang-Arbon, now DTI regional director for Central Visayas and the Negros Island Region. It was inaugurated in Bohol by President Noynoy Aquino in 2014, a collaboration among DTI, Bohol Island State University, the Department of Science & Technology, and Japan International Cooperating Agency. (Judy F. Partlow/PNA)
