25/05/2026
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๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐: ๐ฐ๐ช๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐น๐ซ ๐ฐ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ป๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐น&๐ซ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐
By: Kristin Castillo & Nixie Peralta
The Ilocos Consortium for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (ICIEERD) of DOST Ilocos Region through the leadership of Regional Director Teresita A. Tabaog, successfully led an intensive, human-centered capacity-building workshop focused on revolutionizing the regional Research and Development (R&D) pipeline on May 21, 2026, at Marand Resort, Bauang, La Union.
Conducted through a hybrid setup, the one-day workshop accommodated 88 participants both face-to-face and online, bringing together regional researchers, innovators, local and private agencies, women-led social enterprises and academic stakeholders to transform standard technical frameworks into human-centered research and development strategies.
During the opening the session, Mr. Decth-1180 P. Libunao, PFT, Director of ICIEERD and Assistant Regional Director for Field Operations of DOST Ilocos Region, underscored the critical need for regional R&D to remain grounded in real-world applications. He emphasized the importance of โloving the problemโ to discover ideal solutions, stressing that deep dedication and understanding are essential in addressing real challenges.
Following his remarks, Ms. Jara G. Acoon-Hadji Nasif, Head of the Research and Development Innovation and Project Management Committee (RDIPMC), introduced the resource speaker.
Serving as the primary resource person, Ms. Christine Faith G. Germinal, CIP, Chief Science Officer of Focal Labs, guided participants through a structured, multi-stage ideation and prototyping architecture. The workshop mentored participants through a complete innovation lifecycleโfrom uncovering root problems and empathizing with users to co-creating solutions, de-risking research through rapid prototyping, and building flexible organizational pipelines.
Driven by an interactive approach, each lecture segment was paired with hands-on workshop activities, allowing participants to immediately apply concepts and tools discussed during the sessions. Participants demonstrated enthusiasm and a strong eagerness to integrate design thinking approaches into their respective R&D initiatives.
The activity concluded with the awarding of certifications and final remarks from Dr. Cherrie Melanie Ancheta-Diego, Regional Director of the Commission on Higher Education Regional Office I (CHED RO1) and Chairperson of the ICIEERD Capability Building Committee. Dr. Ancheta-Diego reiterated that integrating design thinking into Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and public research centers represents a crucial structural enhancement, ensuring that future government-funded innovations are both high-impact and sustainable.
Further emphasizing the workshopโs core message, Ms. Germinal shared the famous quote often attributed to Albert Einstein: โIf I had an hour to solve a problem Iโd spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about the solutions.โ The statement reflected one of the key takeaways of the workshop: as researchers continue pushing the boundaries of research development, developing a deep and uncompromising understanding of root causes remains essential. Impactful, human-centered solutions do not emerge from assumptions but are developed through a thorough understanding of the problems they aim to address.
