The much-anticipated Industry Academe Congress on Technologies for Smart City (i-ACT4SmartCity) 2024 officially opened yesterday at the Isabela Convention Center (ICON) in Cauayan City. The event brought together key leaders from the academe, industry, and government sectors across the Cagayan Valley Region, united by a common goal: to accelerate the development and integration of Smart City technologies. This collaborative effort seeks to pave the way for more sustainable, resilient, and innovative urban communities, with Cauayan City at the forefront of this transformative vision.
i-ACT4SmartCity is a key platform for driving the region’s innovation agenda, aimed at fostering stronger industry-academe connections, addressing skill gaps, and nurturing entrepreneurial mindsets. Attendees will have the opportunity to discuss how academic research can be transformed into impactful innovations and successful entrepreneurial ventures.
The objectives of the i-ACT4SmartCity Congress center on building strong industry connections by encouraging partnerships between the academic community and industry players while also identifying and addressing skill gaps to bridge the divide between workforce competencies and industry needs. Additionally, the congress aims to develop entrepreneurial skill sets by equipping individuals with the mindset and tools necessary to thrive in an evolving market. Another key focus is promoting research for innovation, with an emphasis on transforming academic research into viable entrepreneurial ventures.
The congress highlights three core themes: fostering Industry-Academe Connect to strengthen ties between educational institutions and businesses; supporting the development of an innovative and startup-driven ecosystem in the Cagayan Valley Region; and turning insights into impact by transforming research into real-world applications that have the potential to transform industries and communities.
Dr. Virginia G. Bilgera, Regional Director of DOST R02 and one of the preliminary speakers at the event, delivered a message of support and inspiration to the a
ttendees.
“𝑳𝒆𝒕 𝒖𝒔 𝒃𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒐𝒔, 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒃𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒚 𝒆𝒏𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔. 𝑳𝒆𝒕 𝒖𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒏𝒗𝒊𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏,” Dr. Bilgera as she emphasized the importance of collaboration beyond technology.
The i-ACT4SmartCity 2024 Congress is a vital step forward for the Cagayan Valley Region as it aims to create a thriving ecosystem where innovation, research, and entrepreneurship work hand in hand to build a smarter, more sustainable future for all.
