DOST Gives P33 Million Grant to QBO Innovation Hub to Build Stronger Startup Ecosystem in PH

Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Fortunato de la Peña and PLDT and PLDT Chairman and CEO and Metro Pacific Investments Corporation Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan reinforced their commitment to Filipino startups at a joint appearance last week sealing DOST’s P33 million grant to QBO Innovation Hub, a public private sector partnership among DOST, the Department of Trade and Industry, J.P. Morgan and IdeaSpace, the innovation foundation of the MVP group.  The grant calls for QBO to raise the level of 12 Technology Business Incubators (TBI) around the country. Also present at the event were staunch supporters and partners of QBO Carlos Ma. G. Mendoza, Senior Country Officer for J.P. Morgan Philippines and Patricia Anne Javier-Gutierrez, J.P. Morgan Philippines Head of Communications.

Working towards the vision of creating over a thousand innovative startups around the country, and seeing the emergence of a Filipino unicorn in the next five years, the grant will support QBO in carrying out a nationwide project to strengthen TBIs. The grant also serves to help them develop more programs that will create an enabling environment for Filipino tech founders to scale their businesses and become globally competitive.

“I really appreciate that in addition to our own initiatives, we have a collaboration with QBO. The signing of the Innovative Startup Act authorizes us, together with DTI and DICT, to support and assist Filipino startups. So, thank you to IdeaSpace and most especially to QBO for inspiring us to help Filipino startups,” said Secretary de la Peña.

"It’s about time to focus on science and innovation and there are  efforts for that — thanks to DOST," said Pangilinan, who is also the chairman of the board of IdeaSpace Foundation. "We believe that with our stronger commitment, we will be able to put Philippine technopreneurs on par with its regional, if not global, counterparts."

"The DOST grant recognizes the enormous progress achieved by the public private sector partnership that produced QBO,” said Rene Meily, president of QBO and IdeaSpace. “DOST has been continuously holding activities with QBO, IdeaSpace and other partners to discover the Philippines' next unicorn and we are grateful to them for their support. I hope that the golden era for Philippine startups may be just within reach.”

DOST has been working side by side with QBO since it was established in 2016. Since its inception, QBO has grown to have more than 5,000 members and over 300 tech startups representing various verticals. On top of implementing hundreds of startup development programs, including mentorship and specialized coaching and consultation sessions that have opened global opportunities for the founders, QBO, together with DOST, DTI, and J.P. Morgan, has also yielded gains in multimillion-peso funding and revenue raised for startups.

To learn more about QBO and its projects for startups, visit https://www.qbo.com.ph/.


About QBO

QBO (‘ku-bo’) is an innovation hub or a platform for the startup community to collaborate, develop talent, and grow. It provides startups with support and resources through events and capacity building programs as well as focused interventions designed to improve access to markets, knowledge, capital, and talent. QBO is the country’s first public-private initiative for startups, created through a partnership between IdeaSpace, J.P. Morgan, Department of Science and Technology, and Department of Trade and Industry.

Spurred on by the vision of Filipinos startups changing the world, QBO’s mission is to create a globally competitive startup ecosystem in the Philippines.

Samsung Opens a One-day Pop-up Restaurant Using a 6-in-1 Cooking Appliance

“It will amaze everyone with the different functions it could do. It will surely change the way people see cooking innovation. We want everyone to be inspired and get excited to start cooking, whether for their families or for anyone looking to have a healthier lifestyle. We just want people to know that by using Samsung's Smart Oven, we don't need to worry anymore about the work and time we need to put in cooking" shares Head of Product Marketing of Samsung Digital Appliances, Stephanie Chua.

With the Smart Oven, homemakers, young professionals, and students living in condominiums can feel the joy of cooking healthier meals with just one device. Now, it’s easier to be a kitchen master and experience tasty food, no matter how busy the schedule.

The Samsung Smart Oven has two models: The 35-Liter Smart Oven (MC35J8088LT/TC), is priced at P29,995 and the 32-Liter Smart Oven (MC32K7055KT/TC) is priced at P15,995.

The Do It All Cookbook will be available this November and can only be availed upon purchasing a MC35J8088LT/TC or MC32K7055KT/TC Smart Oven. It contains 35 easy-to-follow recipes specially made for the Samsung Smart Oven.

For more information on the Samsung Smart Oven, visit https://www.samsung.com/ph/cooking-appliances/microwave-ovens/ and like SamsungPH on Facebook.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Samsung inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies. The company is redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, digital appliances, network systems, and memory, system LSI and LED solutions. For the latest news, please visit the Samsung Newsroom at http://news.samsung.com and SamsungPH on Facebook.

To showcase its culinary capabilities, Samsung Digital Appliances built a pop-up smart kitchen and restaurant for mall-goers and media at Robinsons Magnolia. “We developed the idea of setting up this pop-up restaurant because we wanted people to experience first-hand what the Smart Oven can do,” says Household Appliances Group Head Mon Medina. “Homemakers don’t need to go to a culinary school to start cooking or have the fanciest ingredients to create a scrumptious meal.”

In this first-ever Samsung pop-up restaurant, the Smart Oven was put into action as guests got to taste a wide variety of dishes. To start off, guests were served Roasted Eggplant and Pepper Dip with Pita Bread for appetizer. Then they got to choose their main course from a selection that includes Baked Spiced Chicken Breast with Creamed Spinach, Texas Style Pulled Pork Sandwich, SlimFry Honey-Sriracha Chicken Wings, Beef Kebabs with Garlic Cream Sauce, Charsiu BBQ pork, and Salmon Teriyaki Fillet. Finally, for dessert, guests were treated with Dark Chocolate brownies. All these amazing dishes were cooked and prepared using the Samsung Smart Oven.

Chef Clyden San Perdro and host, Cerah Hernandez discussing the different capabilities of the Smart Oven

A live cooking demonstration was also held to guide the guests with how easy it is to cook a meal using the Smart Oven. Dishes cooked during the event were based on the soon-to-be-launched Do It All Cookbook in partnership with Samsung and Maggi. During the live demo, the chef was able to prepare Steamed Zesty Garlic Shrimp, Ribeye steak, and Baked Apple Cobbler, using just the Smart Oven.

Steamed Zesty Garlic Shrimp cooked with the HotBlast™ function

The device is a 6-in-1 kitchen partner that can produce virtually any dish with its HotBlast™ technology that reduces cooking times significantly. Powerful hot air is blown through multiple air-holes directly onto food, so it’s cooked evenly, retaining the crisp texture on the outside but still juicy on the inside. It also has a Cook with Ease presets that makes it easier to use by individuals who aren’t kitchen savvy. With these two features, there’s no more excuse for not having tasty and healthy meals at home. This innovation is breaking the barriers in cooking technology as it makes meal preparation faster and more convenient.

The 35-liter Samsung Smart Oven with 6-in-1 functions

Beyond this, its Grill function evenly distributes heat so perfectly grilled and browned meat are achieved without having to set up an entire grill at home. Those looking for healthier alternatives meanwhile, can use the Slim-Fry™ Technology, which can cook meals with less oil. They can also try the Power Steam function for nourishing ways to prepare fish, chicken breast, and vegetables.

Whipping up scrumptious desserts is also possible with the Smart Oven. Aspiring and expert bakers can design sweet confections through the Convection Mode. It can keep the oven’s temperature even and regulated so treats are always soft and moist. Moreover, they can also create homemade yogurt or dough with the Fermentation Technology.

THE #ROGPHONE2 (512G)!

The Republic of Gamers has officially announced the price of the ROG Phone 2 (12GB/512GB), at PHP 49,995.00. Together with the surprise reveal is the announcement of their pre-order campaign, which will run from October 3 to 11, 2019.

Successful pre-orders will also be eligible for the WEAR VICTORY BUNDLE – a promo in which interested ROG Phone 2 buyers shall be given an EXCLUSIVE ROG JACKET worth PHP 2,495.00.

Full mechanics and information shall be unveiled on the ROG Philippines page, on the evening of October 2, 2019. However, the news will not stop there. The brand will still have another announcement on October 11, 2019 – during their online launch at 9:00 PM.

ROG PHONE 2 OFFICIAL SPECIFICATIONS

Processor	2.96GHz Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 855 Plus Mobile Platform with 7nm, 64-bit octa-core processor
GPU	Qualcomm® Adreno™ 640
UI	Android™ Pie™ with new ROG UI
Display	6.59-inch 19.5:9 (2340 x 1080) 120Hz/1ms AMOLED 10-bit HDR display 600nits outdoor readable brightness Delta E < 1 DCI-P3 support and 500,000:1 contrast ratio AMOLED display with Corning® Gorilla® 6 Glass Blue-light filter for eye care  Supports Always On Capacitive touch panel with 10-point multitouch (supports glove touch)
Dimensions	170.99 x 77.6 x 9.48 mm
Weight	240g
Battery	6000mAh
Memory	LPDDR4X12GB RAM
Storage	UFS 3.0 512GB
Sensor	In-display fingerprint sensor, face recognition, accelerator, e-compass, gyroscope, proximity sensor, Hall sensor, ambient light sensor, ultrasonic sensors for AirTrigger II and grip press, dual vibrators
Wireless Technology	4G LTE up to 1.2Gbps downloads with integrated Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ X24 LTE modem Qualcomm Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac  Wi-Fi Direct  WiGig® (802.11ad/60GHz Wi-Fi) wireless display support 2x2 MIMO Bluetooth® 5.0 (EDR + A2DP), supports Qualcomm® aptX™, aptX HD and aptX Adaptive NFC
GPS	Supports GPS(L1+L5), GLO, BDS, GAL(E1+E5a), QZSS(L1+L5)
I/O ports	Side:  Custom USB-C™  Supports USB 3.1 Gen 1 / DP 1.4 (4K) / fast charging (PD 3.0) (30W)  30W ROG HyperCharge direct charging Bottom:  USB-C™ Supports USB 2.0 / fast charging (PD3.0) (30W) / direct charging 3.5mm headphone jack
Front Camera	24MP
Main Camera	48MP + 13MP (125° ultrawide-angle)
Voice Wakeup	Yes
Speaker	Dual front-facing stereo speakers with DTS:X Ultra Stereo speaker with dual NXP TFA9874 smart amplifier for louder, deeper and less distorted sound effect
NFC	Supported
Color	Black Glare
Inclusions	AeroActive Cooler II (PHP 2,995), Aero Case (PHP 995)

Tags: #ROGPhone2, #RepublicofGamers, #OverdriveGamingPH

What: ROG Phone 2 512GB Price Reveal & Pre-orders

When: October 3-11, 2019

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About ROG

Republic of Gamers (ROG) is an ASUS sub-brand dedicated to creating the world’s best gaming hardware and software. Formed in 2006, ROG offers a complete line of innovative products known for performance and quality, including motherboards, graphics cards, laptops, desktops, monitors, audio equipment, routers and peripherals. ROG participates in and sponsors major international gaming events. ROG gear has been used to set hundreds of overclocking records and it continues to be the preferred choice of gamers and enthusiasts around the world. Learn more about the choice of champions at http://rog.asus.com.