UPSCALE looks to UP community, Taiwanese partners to boost incubation program

Following the celebration of its second anniversary, UPSCALE, an innovation hub based in the University of the Philippines Diliman, opened applications to join the ninth batch of its in-house incubator, Enterprise.

With the goal of shaping globally-competitive startups, UPSCALE is preparing for their next batch of enterprises by forging new partnerships not only across the UP colleges, but also across country borders.

Widespread partnerships

Among UP’s colleges that have pledged support for UPSCALE’s new project are the College of Engineering and the College of Fine Arts. Enterprise’s next batch of startups can look forward to using facilities from both colleges, such as the College of Fine Arts’ Fablab, as well as training from their faculty and staff.

The Virata School of Business (UP-VSB) has pledged their resources and services towards the proper documentation of startup success stories for business cases, as well as mentoring on topics such as business development and regulatory compliance.

“It’s a given fact that only a minimum few are able to sustain their business,” said Joel Tan-Torres, dean of UP-VSB. “The way probably to ensure better success at sustainability is to work at the fundamentals. It’s not the product alone.”

Beyond the University of the Philippines, UPSCALE has sealed partnerships with other universities and incubators both local and abroad.

In collaboration with Indian social enterprise incubator Villgro Philippines, UPSCALE launched Trailblazers 2020, a 15-month incubation program for social enterprises, with Villgro Philippines. The goal is to strengthen local businesses by teaching entrepreneurs how to develop, scale, and sustain their endeavors.

UPSCALE also signed MOUs with institutions in Taiwan, namely the Southern Taiwan Industry Promotions Center, Industrial Technology Research Institute, Kaohsiung Medical University Incubator, and National Kaohsiung University for Science & Technology.

“Taiwan is a leader in many industries, most notably the electronics industry. We hope to beef up that aspect of our mentoring and support here,” said Dr. Luis Sison, Project Leader of UPSCALE.

Two startups, agritech platform Farmwatch and and healthtech device provider Veris, are currently being co-incubated along with UPSCALE’s Taiwanese partners to further develop their technologies and forge connections with other industry players.