00:00A need to be tested, need to be upgraded in terms of technology readiness or market readiness.
00:07We don't always assume that once someone invents something or one produces a product or a process
00:15after a research grant has been given, that it is ready for the market.
00:20We need these to be tested.
00:22And so the Department of Science and Technology, together with the Commission on Higher Education,
00:27State Universities and Colleges and Private Higher Education Institution is advancing a national initiative called FITEST.
00:37If you are Greek, then you call it FITEST.
00:42But I think FITEST sounds better.
00:45It's called the Philippine Technology Evaluation and Standards for Testing System.
00:50It is a particularly fitting acronym, one that rhymes, very easy to remember,
00:56and even suggest FITNESS, which is precisely what this system is about.
01:02Ensuring that our technologies are fit, ready, and competitive for real-world and global application.
01:09Essentially making sure that investors, when they look at the data after testing,
01:16would assume that the technologies that we have improved are already at the risk.
01:21Many of our investors are afraid of the risk that new innovations happen, new innovations fix.
01:31And so this is a very important activity, which reflects the simple but critical reality.
01:40Filipino ingenuity is not a problem to solve.
01:43The challenge lies in how we move our innovation from the laboratory to the marketplace, from prototypes, to industries,
01:51meaning scaled up with mass production, and from isolated success stories to sustain national impact.
02:00And this is similar to oil.
02:03And as a scientist, I've learned that once you produce something, most often you still need to improve it.
02:11So you build on low-hanging fruits, improve it, so that we can access the market better.
02:17For too long, our innovation system has been strong in generating research outputs or even inventions,
02:24but eager in ensuring that these outputs are tested, validated, certified, and scaled for real-world use.
02:31And this is where FITES comes in, closing this gap between innovation and adoption.
02:38It builds the system that allows Filipino technologies to enter markets, create jobs, and strengthen industries.
02:44Essentially, it builds a unified national system for testing, evaluation, and make sure that standards development are created
02:57to make sure that Filipino technologies are not only innovative, but also reliable, safe, and globally competitive.
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