Contributors: Jerome John J. Gabin & Jude Bernard T. Guieb
The Department of Trade and Industry – Bohol Provincial Office (DTI – Bohol), in cooperation with the Bohol Fabrication Laboratory (Fablab) and Bohol ICT Council, is organizing the Bohol Idea to Innovation (BHL i2i) Competition which will commence this coming October 2015. This initiative aims to spark creativity and innovation in the province of Bohol.
The BHL i2i Competition, the first of its kind in the province, is a program that promotes innovation and start-ups through digital fabrication. It aims to support the participants in developing technology-based solutions to local problems. It is an end-to-end approach to develop ideas into minimum viable products through the facilities and technologies available at the Bohol Fablab, the first fabrication laboratory in the country. It will be open to all aspiring students and innovators of Bohol.
The competition is composed of four (4) stages: a) boot camp stage; b) prototyping stage; c) co-creation stage; and 4) the exhibition stage.
The competition will be kicked-off by a Boot Camp, a two (2) day event where competitors will undergo various lectures before they go into the ideation phase, preparation of presentation materials and pitching. Winning ideas will qualify for the next stage and will be supported by DTI in the development of prototypes. Teams may avail of the services and technical support of the Bohol Fablab during the prototyping stage.
An added feature of the competition is the product co-creation process with Japanese mentors before the presentation of the final prototype for judging. Through this process, teams will have the chance to further improve their prototypes through knowledge and technical expertise sharing from Japanese counterparts before the final presentation in March 2016. Winning competitors will have the chance to present their prototype during the Fab Asian Network 3 (FAN3) in 2016 which will be held in India.
For more information and details regarding the competition, interested participants may visit the DTI – Bohol located at 2nd Floor, FCB Main Building, CPG Avenue, Cogon District, Tagbilaran City, Bohol or call (038) 501.8828/ 501.260/ 411 3302 and look for Jerome and Jude.
DTI-Bohol Provincial Director Nanette Arbon (right) presides the meeting with stakeholders for the BHL i2i competition. In attendance are the board of directors of the Bohol ICT Council, academe representatives and DTI staff. Mr. Yutaka Tokushima from Keio University and Shiro Takaki of JICA/JOCV are also in attendance.