How a nationwide campaign is inspiring Filipino creatives to champion homegrown technologies
What does it take to turn Filipino innovations into moving stories worth sharing? For the Technology Application and Promotion Institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-TAPI), the answer lies in meeting aspiring storytellers where they are. That’s why DOST-TAPI has been hosting in-person and virtual pocket launches since the campaign’s launch last October.
DOST-TAPI utilizes GAxD in-person pocket launches as a strategic platform to achieve two main goals. First, the launches clearly communicate the campaign’s rules and regulations to all interested participants. Second, face-to-face gatherings maximize the opportunity for promotion of local innovations. While each launch is designed to clarify requirements and eligibility, all events featured unique and tailored sessions to boost engagement.
A Nationwide Call for Aspiring Storytellers
The DOST-TAPI roadshow has been to three academic institutions, particularly at De La Salle Lipa (DLSL) in Batangas (October 23), University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) (November 13) in Laguna, and Saint Louis University (SLU) in Baguio (November 17). The events engaged over 200 Filipinos in the process, inspiring young creators to tell the stories of local technologies.
Each stop brought its own unique energy. The Batangas pocket launch brought together enthusiastic senior high school and college students from DLSL and the University of Batangas.
The event was made possible in collaboration with NEXUS Innovation Labs and Intellectual Property Office of DLSL.
Aspiring engineers were at the heart of the Laguna pocket launch. In particular, students taking innovation classes were encouraged to showcase their hard work through the GAxD campaign.
One of DOST-TAPI’s beneficiaries, Ms. Rowena Sucalit, the inventor of the MagicBag, inspired students about the boost DOST-TAPI can bring. Ms. Sucalit is currently receiving financial assistance through the Grants and Assistance to Leverage Innovations for National Growth (GALING) Program.
The event was supported by the UPLB-Technology Transfer and Business Development Office (TTBDO). The University’s Department of Industrial Engineering and College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial Technology led their assistance for the event’s success.
Meanwhile, the Baguio leg—organized with SLU’s Research, Innovation, & Sustainable Extension Center (RISE)—felt more like a creative workshop, with communication and marketing students pitching more than 20 advertising concepts for Make-roscope, a technology invented by Jeremy De Leon and supported by DOST-TAPI.
The event was hosted in partnership with the SLU-RISE. It was supported by the SLU’s Communications Society, and brought together over a hundred potential creative storytellers.
Bi-Weekly Virtual Pocket Launches for All
To keep up with the rising interest, DOST-TAPI also hosted virtual pocket launches every Tuesday and Thursday in November, allowing more Filipinos nationwide to join the campaign. Official event details will be announced through the DOST-TAPI Facebook page. Filipinos interested in having their own virtual GAxD orientation can email DOST-TAPI at [email protected] or contact GAxD focal’s mobile number 09082447842 (available on Viber or WhatsApp).
This expanded effort accompanies the campaign’s deadline extension to December 5, 2025, 11:59 PM, giving aspiring participants more time to refine their entries.
The GAxD campaign is a platform for Filipinos to use their creative storytelling and leverage shareable and engaging content to propel Filipino technologies to the national stage. It also provides an opportunity for DOST-TAPI to extend support to innovations featured in selected GAxD entries.
All participants must like and follow the @iINVENTPH, @TeKnowLohiya, and @DOST.TAPI Facebook pages. Proof must be submitted through the campaign’s submission links. Only entries submitted through the official submission links will be considered by DOST-TAPI.
For complete GAxD guidelines, participants may visit the link: bit.ly/GAxD2025Guidelines. For more information about the GAxD campaign, please visit the DOST-TAPI website (TAPI.DOST.gov.ph) and follow the DOST-TAPI Facebook page.
