The National Science and Technology Week (NSTW) this year will be hosted by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in Iloilo City on November 22 to 26.
It will be a first for an NSTW to be held outside of Manila.
From now on, the annual event “will hop from one region to another,” Sancho Mabborang, DOST undersecretary, said yesterday.
Technologies on yarn and fiber will be displayed by DOST’s Philippine Textile Research Institute, he said in a press briefing. Another feature this year will focus on maritime transportation, Mabborang added.
Mabborang highlighted various strides in research and development, including a substitute to rugby adhesive which has been developed by Mindanao State University’s Iligan Institute of Science and Technology.
Engineered bamboo research is going towards alternative materials for the construction industry, which uses materials 80 percent of which are made of timber.
These technologies and many others should be commercialized or be made available to the mass market in due time, Mabborang said.
The annual NSTW highlights the significant contributions of science and technology to national development and has become a platform for showcasing S&T advocacy in the country.
In the 1950s, the National Science Development Board, which became the DOST, spearheaded the Philippine National Science Week celebration on the third week of November.
At the same time, it recognized outstanding scientists, researchers, inventors and institutions.
President Ferdinand E. Marcos formalized the NSTW as an annual event in 1982.
The Science and Technology Master Plan was launched by the administration of former President Corazon Aquino during the 32nd NSTW celebration in 1990 to establish the direction of S&T development in the country. It became the banner activity throughout the 1990s.
In August 2019, the NSTW celebration was moved to the fourth week of November to ensure the “maximum participation” of schools, students, stakeholders and the public during the weeklong celebration, due to the change in the academic calendar of most universities, schools and educational institutions. – Paul Icamina
