OVERVIEW

WHAT IS THE NEWTON FUND?

The Newton Fund is an Emerging Powers Research and Innovation Fund of £375 million over five years to support science and innovation partnerships with emerging powers.

Through the Newton Fund, the United Kingdom (UK) will use its strength in research and innovation to promote the economic development and social welfare of partner countries. The Fund forms part of the UK's Official Development Assistance (ODA) commitment and its primary focus is to develop partner countries innovation and research capacity for long-term sustainable growth.

By working together on bi-lateral and multi-lateral programs with a research and innovation focus, the UK will build strong, sustainable, systemic relationships with partner countries. This will support the continued excellence of the UK research base and innovation ecosystem and act as a golden key to unlock opportunities for wider collaboration and trade.

WHAT IS THE LEADERS IN INNOVATION FELLOWSHIP?

The Royal Academy of Engineering's Leaders in Innovation Fellowships (LIF) program aims to build capacity of researchers for entrepreneurship and commercialization of their research. A wider benefit of the programme will be the creation of international networks of innovators and technology entrepreneurs.

The program is aimed at researchers within the partner country who are in the process of developing a business proposition for their innovation. A select cohort will benefit from a focused period of training in the UK, access to expert mentors, and opportunities for international networking. In the short term, they will develop a commercialization plan for their innovation. In the long term, they will benefit from on-going support at their home institution, and access to an international network of peer innovators and mentors, in taking their commercialization plan forward.

The LIF program is an initiative under the Newton Fund of the UK government. For more information on the Newton Fund Programmes, please see www.newtonfund.ac.uk.

THE PARTNERS

Royal Academy of Engineering	Department of Science and Technology	Asian Institute of Management
As the UK's national academy for engineering, it brings together the most successful and talented engineers to advance and promote excellence in engineering, for the benefit of society.	This is the premiere science and technology body in the Philippines charged with the twin mandate of providing central direction, leadership and coordination of all scientific and technological activities, and of formulating policies, programs and projects to support national development.	The institute is an Asian pioneer in leadership and management education. It brings its history and expertise in leadership and management training to science and innovation in the LIF program.

HOW THE FELLOWSHIP WORKS

The LIF Program is a multi-phase program to be delivered over a 12-month period from September 2015 to August 2016. It is a multi-sectoral partnership among the top institutions, in the UK and the Philippines, in the fields of science, innovation and leadership management.

The Fellowship is open to any Filipino scientist, researcher or innovator who is in the process of developing a business proposition for their technology or innovation. While the most ideal candidate is one who has had experience in testing their idea in the market, candidates who are at the cusp of commercialization will benefit greatly. 

The Philippine Government's Department of Science and Technology (DOST) will invite application from their pool of scientists, researchers and inventors. One of DOST's planning councils, the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD), shall be the DOST's primary implementing and monitoring arm throughout the program. ​

PHASE 1: SELECTION OF FELLOWS

A cohort of 10-15 researchers (Leaders in Innovation fellows) from the partner country will be selected based on the excellence of their research, the potential of their idea for commercialization, and their potential in taking the idea forward.

Qualified applicants shall undergo a competitive screening process that involves the submission and presentation of their idea/proposition to a panel of experts from the DOST, the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE), and the Asian Institute of Management (AIM).

A rigorous scoring mechanism shall be used inclusive of criteria, such as:

• ​Excellence, novelty and/or effectiveness of the proposed innovation;
• Feasibility and market potential of the proposed innovation;
• Estimate distance to market of the proposed innovation (investment readiness);
• Track record of the candidate (including technical and non-technical capabilities);
• Entrepreneurial potential and commercial awareness of the applicant;
• Expected benefit(s) of the innovation to the Philippine's economy

From a shortlist of candidates, the top 10-15 applications shall be selected as Fellows of the program.

PHASE 2: LAUNCH PROGRAM (AIM)

The selected fellows will be invited to attend an 8-day residential program in the UK, arranged and supported by RAE. To prepare the fellows for their coursework in the UK, the fellows will undergo a 3-day preparatory course designed to help the fellows orient their commercialization effort and enhance their entrepreneurial skill set. It will cover topics such as:

• Elements of business
• Market segmentation and positioning
• Operational Feasibility
• Financial Viability

PHASE 2: UK RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMME (RAE BOOT CAMP)

After successfully completing the launch program, the fellows shall attend the 8-day residential program at RAE.

Week 1 will consist of a training program in innovation leadership, delivered by expert trainers, and based on existing training programs of the Academy for UK researchers. The course will focus on skills and knowledge in:

• Understanding the market and customer needs;
• Business modelling and developing a business plan;
• Types of investment and opportunities;
• Presenting and pitching to investors and customers;
• Marketing and marketing channels;
• Networking skills;
• Negotiation skills;
• Leadership and team building

Importantly, over the course of the week, there will be time for each fellow to develop their own business plan, while receiving guidance and mentorship from members of the Academy's Enterprise Hub. The week will conclude with an activity where researchers pitch their revised business plans.

Week 2 (days 6-8) will allow the fellows to apply the skills and knowledge they have developed in week 1 and gain direct experience of a UK-based technology driven organization. Fellows will be split into small groups and assigned to a project proposed by the organization. Facilitated by expert trainers, the project will involve tackling a genuine market challenge or opportunity faced by that organization.

During the programs, the fellows will benefit from opportunities to network with mentors, representatives of technology driven organizations, and each other.

All participants in the LIF program will automatically join an international network of innovators and mentors clustered around the Academy's Enterprise Hub.

PHASE 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAM (LANDING PROGRAM)

Upon their return to the Philippines, the fellows shall undergo a landing program to contextualize their learnings abroad through simulations, lecture and case studies. For 3 days a month, for 6 months, the fellows shall attend the Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Program handled primarily by AIM. It shall cover topics such as:

• Marketing and Brand Management
• Product Design and Development
• Accounting and Finance for Start-Ups
• Forecasting and Valuation
• Fund Raising and Negotiations
• Business Set-up

The program is designed to tackle the general areas of Strategy, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Operations, Financial Management. It shall culminate in a Final Defense and Demo Day, where they showcase their product and pitch for their business.

Fellows who complete this program will be awarded a post-graduate certificate by the institute.

HOW TO APPLY

Fill up the online application form and submit until November 9, 2015 at 9:00 am.

For more information, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it." target="_blank">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or join the webcast info session hosted by AIM on October 29, 2015, 9:30 am at the FPH Caseroom (G/F, AIM). Those shortlisted will be asked to prepare a pitch deck (preferably in powerpoint) for a formal presentation to the screening panel in November 2015 (date to ba announced). More details shall be emailed to you to confirm your pitch schedule.

Note: reposted

As part of our advocacy to promote our field of science, we are pleased to announce the forthcoming 2^nd Annual Health Research Conference to be heldon October 14-16, 2015 at Fort Ilocandia Resort Hotel located at Laoag City, Ilocos Norte. The theme of this conference is “Future Trends in Natural Products: Safety and Beneficial uses”.

The goal of the conference is to promote the advancement of knowledge and encourage the continuing education of researchers/students/teachers in exploring the natural products located in the different parts of the country

THE GLOBAL call for ethical research has never been stronger, and three professional researchers based in the Cagayan Valley Region made sure to throw in their support in a Tagaytay City conference on Nov. 23-26.

Members of the Cagayan Valley Health Research and Development Consortium (CVHDRC) checked in at Taal Vista Hotel for the Forum for Ethical Review Committees in Asia and the Western Pacific’s (FERCAP) 14th International Conference, an annual gathering on the dos and donts in health research.

“During the past decade, there has been a growing awareness about the importance of research ethicsamong various research sectors including sponsors, investigators, academic institutions and medicalspecialty associations,”the event’s introductory notes said.

It added: “There is increasing evidence that ethics in research is becoming institutionalizedin many Asian countries as shown by the increasing number of ethics research guidelines, accredited/recognized institutional review boards and the number of training programs in good clinical practice andresearch ethics.”

FERCAP was conceived in Thailand back in 2000 by bioethicists and medical experts to establish guidelines for the review of behavioral and biomedical researches in the region.

The Department of Science and Technology’s Victoria B. Mabborang, Senior Research Specialist; Dr. Julius T. Capili, Dean of the Cagayan State University’s College of Allied Health Sciences; and Dr. Josephine Joy D. Lorica, faculty member of the St. Paul University of the Philippines’ Graduate School of Nursing represented the consortium, established in 2005 as a network of government agencies, state universities and colleges, and private institutions engaged in research.

They joined a host of participants from all over Asia and the Western Pacific optimistic about an international linkage to enforce well-integrated and harmonized regulations on the treatment of human participants in research practices.

Nationalhealth authorities, ethics committees, researchers, academic institutions, pharmaceutical industry representatives and even research participants shared their thoughts and stirred the discussions during breakout and plenary sessions, reportings and panel presentations.

Topics ranged from the ethical issues in research grants policy to gray areas inthe management and implementation of interdisciplinary researches. The researchers also discussed minimizing and possibly eliminating unethical practices, and ways to improve consent forms filled out by research subjects. 

Themed “Embedding Ethics in National Health Research Systems,” the meeting also incorporated hands-on activities so the participants would end up scientificallycompetent, sufficientlyinformed and ethicallydriven when they head back to their communities.

Jointly observed with the first-ever national conference of the Philippine Health Research Ethics Board (PHREB), founded in 2003 as the country’s policy-making body in health research ethics, the convention also provided a platform for stakeholders in the local health sector to discuss hot-button issues still aligned with the treatment of human subjects.

The gathering was co-organized by PHREB and FERCAP, with the help of the Department of Science and Technology - Philippine Council for Health Research and Development, the Department of Health, the Commission on Higher Education and the University of the Philippines Manila-National Institutes of Health. Jamille B. Palpallatoc