5 Philippine universities awarded P12 million in grants from US

MANILA, Philippines — Five Philippine universities have been awarded approximately P12 million ($244,000) to support research and innovation aimed at addressing the challenges of the pandemic.

Dubbed “Widening Applications of Research within the Pandemic” or WARP, the grants from the US government will be given through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

It will help Philippine universities build on previous USAID-funded research and also create partnerships among universities, industries and local governments.

“As we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the US-Philippines diplomatic relations, these grants are another milestone in this longstanding partnership as we work together to make higher education and innovation a driver of inclusive growth in the Philippines,” USAID mission director Lawrence Hardy II said.

The five selected research proposals are:

• Development of novel antiseptic patches for wound dressing and skin healing by the University of San Carlos;

• Analyzing properties of high-value extracts from ube and corn for possible use in ready-to-eat foods and as a replacement for commercial food coloring by a team from Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University;

• Establishment of a tuna jerky product enterprise to improve economic opportunities for local fishermen by the University of the Philippines-Visayas;

• Conversion of waste from coconut oil processing into an economically viable substitute to imported chemicals used in insulating foam production by the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology; and

• Expansion of village-scale ethanol production in the Ilocos regions to sustainably supply much-needed disinfectants for public health use by a team from the Mariano Marcos State University.

Since 2013, the USAID through its Science, Technology, Research, and Innovation for Development (STRIDE) project, has provided grants supporting innovation initiatives to almost 60 research groups in 20 higher education institutions throughout the country.