DOST ambassador lauds Pinoy innovators at grassroots level
Vlogger Kyle 'Kulas' Jennermann, ambassador of the Department of Science and Technology’s (DOST) Grassroots Innovation for Inclusive Development (GRIND) program, expresses his admiration for Filipino innovators at the grassroots level. Speaking at the launch of the Grassroots Innovation and Circular Economy Expo (GICE) 2025 in Batac, Ilocos Norte, on Nov. 21, 2025, Jennermann highlighted how local innovators were now blending traditional resourcefulness with modern science and technology, which showcases the country’s 'diskarte and ingenuity.' Jennermann also stressed how government support for rural innovators has become increasingly important as technology access improves across far-flung communities.
VIDEO BY ALLEN LIMOS
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00:00Okay, so sir, how do you think important is this kind of export in terms of showcasing the innovations and grassroots love?
00:07Well, I think it's just really uplifting. I think here in the Philippines, I mean I've been to every province,
00:13and you can see how local communities are really disc-a-arte. But in this case too, disc-a-arte, they're just leveling it up now
00:19and applying more science and technology to make it very usable all over the country and all over the world.
00:24So it's very just uplifting to see, and it makes you a very proud Filipino.
00:28What's your experience here at the NSDW for the past few days? What have you learned so far?
00:34So, I just got here yesterday, but I mean, having seen a lot of what the DRST's been up to, especially the past five years,
00:41it's been really interesting, very, very cool. Like I went to the Centennial Arena, and when I went there, for example,
00:49you see the different umbrella agencies. So let's say I went to the FPRDI, and you look, I'm like, oh, what's this?
00:55I've developed, for example, school desks made in engineered bamboo. But then they're also not just that.
01:01If there's a typhoon and you have to turn the school into a relief center, the desks actually transform and flip and become beds.
01:08So the DRST and local Filipinos are really thinking outside the box of what can be really helpful in society.
01:14I don't know if you guys saw yesterday, they put up the first bamboo waiting shed, or I don't know if you went into the hybrid electric train.
01:21You know, so it's just, it's been really fun, and it was really, really great.
01:25It's seeing a lot of youth and a lot of young students visiting these different exhibits or expos, or like, here today at JICE,
01:32and giving themselves this kind of new mindset to think outside the box, and to see if they apply themselves or study what they could possibly create.
01:40So I think this whole kind of thing really plays really well into that kind of discarding ingenuity side of Filipino culture.
01:46What do I love the most about the Philippines?
01:49What do I love the most about the Philippines? Well, Filipinos themselves.
01:52But I think it's just the idea, in the Philippines, we don't really say no.
01:57It's like, there's no, we can't do it. It's more, wait a minute, we're going to figure this out and figure out a way to do it.
02:02And I think that's what you're seeing when you come to these kind of things that the DUST puts on.
02:06It's that, hey, look, you know what, we're not going to just waste this tire.
02:10We're going to turn it into something that can be really cool, or, you know what, our house is sinking?
02:15Nah, we're going to make it float, you know?
02:17Filipinos, that's what really gets me excited.
02:19This yes attitude will figure it out.
02:22You've seen the Philippines and this particular department focuses on the grassroots in different areas.
02:29How about the support of the government is focusing or giving funds to these people to have this kind of inclusivity?
02:37And how about finding chances for them for whatever technology that they have?
02:41So I think what's really interesting is, especially being somebody who's traveled around the country for the past 12 years,
02:45and seeing the growth of technology nowadays, and especially with media, you know, how we can all kind of, I think,
02:51probably nowadays, you can go almost anywhere in the country,
02:55to these very, very rural communities, and they're online.
02:59They're connected, so a lot of them see Facebook, right?
03:01So what's really nice is nowadays seeing the government go into these rural communities,
03:06and also help them develop, and then also give them opportunities to share on a national level,
03:11and possibly get more funding or more support, or not even just national support, but international.
03:16You know, you have the UNDP coming in, or you have, I think, ADB,
03:19and different, these kind of organizations that can help fund and develop.
03:23I think it's really positive.
03:24Also, I mean, let's just be very honest and blunt.
03:28He's been very tense lately, right, in the Philippines.
03:31And I think what's really nice, though, I mean, even, it doesn't really matter what side you're on.
03:37What matters is when you look at this, grassroots is an all-around-the-country thing,
03:42and it brings us together.
03:44So I think this is a very awesome thing for Filipinos to latch onto,
03:48and grow together as a country and as people, regardless of what side of the fence you sit on.
03:53You know, it's just very, very an uplifting thing that can bring us together more,
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