Twitter: @edd1819, Instagram: @bluestar0910, Facebook: SDN — Science & Digital News
By EDD K. USMAN
SDN — DO you TikTok?
Well and good!
Then you can have the chance to win Php20,000 by doing what you like to do.
Some of us do things they like not thinking of a reward, or a prize. They do it because they like it. Like doing trivial things, funny acts on the popular Chinese app TikTok. Brief videos.
But, of course, a chance to earn money doing what you like won’t hurt.
Now comes the Department of Science and Technoloy (DOST) tapping TikTok to promote Science and Technoloy (S&T) innovations on the online platform to showcase more widely what science is doing and can do to improve Filipinos’ lives and help in the country’s progress and development.
The Innovation Council of the science department, the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD) headed by Executive Director Dr. Enrico C. Paringit signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Tiktok Head for Public Policy Kristoffer Rada.
PCIEERD hopes to see TikTok strengthening the promotion of Filipino innovation through their partnership with science-related video content on PCIEERD’s TikTok account, @pinoyscience.
The two parties’ team-up comes in the wake of the DOST’s role gaining more recognition among Filipinos through its various contributions in the government’s battle against Covid-19. DOST and its 18 attached agencies have also been gaining following on social media as they tightened their promotion of the fruits of science, technology, and innovation (STI).
Science communication a challenge to researchers
Surely, the bar of recognition and acceptance of all things science can still be raised higher. With the PCIEERD and TikTok coming together things should be looking bright.
They launched virtually their partnership today, January 26, highlighted by the MOU signing.
Paringit said this collaboration is a big boost for the scientific community as it continues to reach out to Filipino netizens and garner support to innovations Filipino researchers developed.
“Communicating science to the public has always been a challenge for our researchers. As a leader and partner in enabling innovations, we are excited with this collaboration with TikTok as a new avenue for us to share distinctly Pinoy innovations through this social media platform,” he said.
He added that Filipino TikTok users will now learn more Filipino scientific achievements and developments through the team-up.
The duo’s partnership will last for six months with TikTok providing training for researchers on how to use the platform for science communication, promotion of Filipino technologies, and conduct contests for the Filipino TikTok community.
The first contest is through the #PinoyInnovator hashtag challenge which intends to show how creative and resourceful Filipinos are. Through this challenge, common household items will be creatively used to develop a nifty innovation. The winners of the challenge to be known in April 2021 will be hailed as the “Pinoy Science Innovator 2021.”
Another contest that will be launched is the #PinoyScience hashtag challenge. The contest will challenge TikTok users to explain the science behind DOST-PCIEERD’s supported scientific projects.
The #PinoyScience hashtag challenge will run from April to July 2021. Three winners will be announced every month starting May 2021.
Paringit told SDN — Science & Digital News the competitions will have winners get Php20,000 for First Prize; Php15,000 as Second Prize; and Php5,000 pegged for Third Prize.
TikTok’s Rada welcomed the collaboration with PCIEERD.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with the DOST-PCIEERD to help promote awareness and understanding for science and innovation, as well as inspire the Filipino youth to discover their creativity and talents. Inspiring creativity and bringing joy is at the heart of what we do at TikTok,” he emphasized.
“TikTok is committed to helping facilitate education and learning in the Philippines. Through our #LearnOnTikTok series, we will be working with creators to produce more educational content on the platform,” Rada added.
If there are any concern about video content creators making the message of science misunderstood, apparently DOST has a way to prevent it.
Paringit relayed this to SDN — Science & Digital News.
“We discussed that videos be reviewed by us and researchers for validity prior to upload so they get the science right.
The trick he seems to say is to make science message both fun and sexy.
DOST Undersecretary for Research & Development Dr. Rowena Cristina Guevara referenced the Battle Cry of the science department. She voiced confidence on the partnership’s success.
“DOST’s battle cry is ‘Science for the People’. Rather than making science a trivial subject, we are making science accessible and acceptable to a larger Filipino audience. By using TikTok as a venue for communicating science, we will be able to reach more Filipinos and achieve our objective of disseminating and diffusing science and technology, for use by our fellow Filipinos, in their daily lives.”
DOST Undersecretary for International Cooperation Dr. Leah J. Buendia cited the launching of the partnership as an expression of support not only to the collaboration but all initiatives of the department.
She said the event spotlighted “how we can maximize the use of technology to reach, influence, and educate people in various parts of the world.”
Buendia lauded DOST-PCIEERD and TikTok for their “initiative in ensuring that there are more high-quality, engaging information materials that highlights the Philippines’ scientific achievements and developments.”
She invited everyone to participate in the activities under the collaboration between PCIEERD and TikTok. (✓)
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Follow DOST-PCIEERD at https://www.tiktok.com/@pinoyscience. For inquiries on this partnership or request for collaborations, send an email to pinoyscience.dostpcieerd@gmail.com.