DOST Scholars Bound to Ilocos Norte for NSTW 2025 

Seven scholars of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) from the University of Southern Mindanao (USM) are set to represent Region XII in the upcoming National Science and Technology Week (NSTW) on November 18–21, 2025, in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte. 

Their startup group, PhotoSynth, was named Grand Winner of the Scholars Technopreneurship Training Program (STTP) Region XII Demo Day held on September 19 at the Grand Summit Hotel, General Santos City. The team took home ₱100,000 and five special awards for their project Chloromeds, a Halal-certified, microalgae-based drug line scientifically formulated primarily for the Muslim community. 

PhotoSynth also received the Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC) Award, which includes two complimentary conference tickets and an exhibition booth at StartUp Village during IDECS2025 in Kuching, Malaysia. They likewise earned free legal assistance for trademark registration from the Law Office of Flores & Ofrin, free access to a technopreneurship training platform from the Wadhwani Foundation, and incubation support from USMart TBI and STEP APP TBI of Sultan Kudarat State University (SKSU). 

The awards were conferred by DOST-Science Education Institute (SEI) HRD Consultant and former Director Dr. Josette T. Biyo, Regional Director Engr. Sammy P. Malawan, and Leave a Nest Philippines Managing Director Yevgeny Aster Dulla. The STTP is a six-month initiative of DOST-SEI designed to equip scholars with a technopreneurial mindset, and is also implemented in other regions, including Central Luzon, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Northern Mindanao, and Davao Region.

The group is composed of microbiology alumnus Rico John Gorieza, science education major Nystee Magotte Diaz, chemistry students Zoe Tiffany Tulang and Ariel Duke Castillon, and civil engineering students Kenneth John Ferrariz, Aiman-Nor Musa, and Faizal Daungan.