A Memorandum of Understanding was signed by PHilMech Director Rex L. Bingabing and UP Diliman Chancellor Dr. Caesar A. Saloma on October 9, 2013 to instigate the R&D cooperation between the two institutions.
The scope of the cooperation includes the following: conduct of research and development, prototyping and fabrication of developed technologies, sharing of manpower and financial resources on mutually agreed projects, and other related collaborative activities.
According to Dir. Bingabing, an alumnus and former faculty of UPDiliman, ‘the concept of the collaboration is to give the students and other researchers an idea on what technology to develop with immediate application’.
He also said that he is optimistic ‘that the collaboration will be fruitful and would really have an impact to the country especially to the agriculture sector’.
PHilMech is mandated to ‘generate, extend and commercialize appropriate and problem-oriented agriculture and fishery postharvest and mechanization technologies’.
Chancellor Saloma, addressing in front of the faculty and students of the UP Diliman College of Engineering, said that its time to bring their research results to the public. “…dalhin natin ang ating mga discovery sa mga tax payers at larger society. Ang ating na-discover sa laboratory ay kailangan pa rin nating i-validate kung epektibo ba sa public, sa mga stakeholders.†(..let’s bring our discoveries to the tax payers and larger society. What we discovered in the laboratories should be validated its efficiency to the public, our stakeholders.)
Dr. Saloma also emphasized that UP is mandated to perform not only as a graduate university but also as a research university and a public service university.
Part of the MOU is the creation of a Joint Technical Working Group ‘that will explore suitable areas of cooperation, draft working plans, and determine the specific terms of the collaboration’.
As an initial project, the two institutions are now planning to mechanize the shelling operation of cashew nut.