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BLOG NO.7

Through the pre-recorded Virtual Lecture Series 3 I learn a lot from the discussion which was very beneficial to me as a student of Business Administration. It was very fruitful event because the topic is all about the Intellectual Property and Intellectual Property Rights. The focus of the lecture was about how to protect startup, the ideas or concept that we come up and also with the process of application together with the technology transfer which concern with preparation, installation, and utilization of technology.  The guest speaker for the third virtual lecture is Dr. Gamaleila A. Dumancas the OIC-Head of Intellectual Property & Technology Business Management in the Central Mindanao University.

Republic Act No. 8293 or the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines. The Intellectual property office of the Philippines are responsible for the implementation of the protecting the Intellectual Property Rights in the Philippines. The same with Philippine Technology Transfer Act of 2009 (Republic No. 10055). It provides the framework and support system for the ownership, management, use, and commercialization of intellectual property generated from research and development funded by government and for other purposes. From the lecture Intellectual Property is define as “ Creation of the Mind”, some example of it the innovation, literary and artistic works, symbols, names, images and designs.

The protection of Intellectual Property happen when ideas are transform into tangible products. It is very important to register first before sharing your creation to other people because intellectual property is a “First to File” basis. Other people might steal your work after knowing that it is not registered, they view your work as ownerless. There are a lot of significant aspects that Intellectual Property brings to us like it prevent competitor from copying trademark, avoid wasteful investment in research & development, and create at the same time enhance corporate identity and increase the company market value. It was also discuss about the Intellectual Property cycle:

There are a lot of variety of Intellectual Property Rights first is the Trademark. It is a visible sign capable of distinguishing the goods (trademark) or services (service mark). Functions of trademark is to Indicator of origin, Indicator of quality, and advertising function. The best global brands in 2016 was Apple next is Google and Coca-Cola while in 2019 is apple again next is Amazon and Microsoft.  The terms of protection for Trademark is 10 years from the date of filing and renewable every 10 years and perpetual and declaration of actual use is required.

Second is Geographical Indication, identify as a good or origination in territory, region or locality where given quality, reputation or other characteristics of the good is essentially attributable to its geographical origin, example of it is the Calamay in Bohol and Pomelo in Davao. Third is invention, any technical solution to a problem in any field of human activity. There are three criteria before you could the protection, it must be new or novel (not publish/disclosed), inventive step (not obvious to a skilled person) and it must have a practical use in the industry (real life benefit). The term protection for invention is 20 years from the date of filing but before you could gain the protection it is necessary to have a 2 years of analysing or examination to ensure that your invention pass the criteria.

Fourth is the utility model, any technical solution of a problem in any field of human activity which is new and industrial application. It is the extension of the invention but it has only 2 criteria, example for utility model is an umbrella for the dog. The term of protection for utility model is 7 years from the date of filing but after the protection it is a part now of public domain. Fifth is industrial design, consist of the creation of a shape, configuration or composition of patterns or color, or combination of pattern and color in three dimensional form containing aesthetic value. It can be two or three dimensional pattern used to produce a product, industrial commodity or handicraft. The term of protection is 5 years from the date of filing and renewable for 2 years (consecutive). Sixth is the Lay-out design of IC (topography) example of it is the circuit. The term of protection for lay-out is 10 years from the date of filing.

Seventh is copyright and related right, is the legal protection extended to the right in an original work. Example for original works is the books and magazines, drawings, paintings, sculpture, work of architecture, original ornamental designs, maps, sketches, carvings, and photographic works. The term of protection for copyrights in a derivative work is life plus 50 years after death while for joint works is last life plus 50 years after death.

It was quoted that in order to ensure that the product of your research is patentable, do a prior art search and invention spotting. The significance of patent search is it can freely support research and development activities since it contains information not yet divulge, it improves the quality of patent application, prevention of infringement violation, and also to save money in case the invention is not new there will no waste resources. When doing a patent search you need to choose the right keywords (technical terms) in order to arrive at the closest prior art.

Intellectual Property and Technology Business Management have three units which has a different task. First is the IPLU “Intellectual Property Licensing Unit” they are responsible for registering technologies generated by faculty and students. Second is the TTU “Technology Transfer Unit” responsible for the pre commercialization activity. Lastly is the TBIU “Technology Business Incubation Unit” in charge for commercialization component.

The speaker greatly emphasize that we need to be careful when sharing our innovation. Especially the intellectual property is more first to file bases, even if that person didn’t create does innovation but he/she is the first to register then it was the loss for the researcher. It will be a great pain for the creator if that happened because their effort is at vain.  

For the Virtual Lecture series number 4 the guest speaker is Mrs. Rhea Mae D. Cuñada which is the Manager in Technology Business Incubation. The Technology Business Incubation main task is to help entrepreneurs to improve their innovation while also earning profit. While their purpose is to make the entrepreneur help or aid the community. If they can operate they will provide employment for the citizens. It assist SMEs, to enhance the way of doing business for micro and small enterprises in the community through the provision of services necessary for its success. The services offered by Technology Business Incubation is Product commercialization, Enterprise development, Access to network, and Knowledge transfer.

The target is the “Incubatee”, a natural person, unregistered association, or a juridical entity who has the desire to undergo the incubation program. There are two classification for the Incubatee first is the “Would-be entrepreneur” are the one who will start a business from scratch or will adapt the available research generated technology in the University for Commercialization. Second is “Start-ups or existing” are those who have already started the enterprise with their own technology but who still need enhancement in the business or technology aspects.

First step in starting a business is having a product idea or concept it can be a particular product or innovative method. It is not necessary that the idea is perfect the important is the idea. During the process the idea and concept might be change several times while learning about your product deeply. You just have to start to come up with idea and let the Technology Business Incubation help you to move forward. We might have this good ideas but we didn’t try, with Technology Business Incubation they promote to earn profit with the ideas we can generate. Idea is a dime a dozen. Idea is not the key to success. Sometime it needs to have a good idea but company have a good idea always fails all the time. It is necessary to have the skills and competencies that’s why there is Technology Business Incubation. The process might take long and they will be release if Technology Business Incubation think that they are capable to stand alone. Business is not always about skills but also need perseverance and also luck.

There are two face of Technology Business Incubation which is the “Pre-Incubatee” the first step in registration procedure is fill-out the application, next is to attend a one day training seminar (Creating a Business Model Canvas), Assessment (analysing if the applicant is financially capable to sustain the business), latly  qualified pre-incubatee may proceed to the incubation procedure. The other face is the “Incubatee” registration procedure is MOA/MOU signing, next is fill out application form and lastly pay the enrolment fee.

The three Incubatee are the teachers/faculty, students, and individuals outside from the University. After you pay you become incubatee and will undergo three phases. First Phase is “Pamula” preparation of the incubatee in establishing a clearer and profitable business model. Second Phase is “Tanul” is a curriculum aimed at harnessing the competencies of start-ups in the incubation programs before. Third Phase is “Legtay” (graduation) become a successful entrepreneur. There are four exit criteria which is graduation (10% return of investment, the business is growing), premature ejection, voluntary exit, and continuous loss of income.

It is encourage that we student need to be successful as fast as we can. It does not mean that we need to millionaire we just need to find the starting point. Like during the pandemic, we could find things (Ideas or concept) that make us productive resulting for us to earn profit amidst this negative situation. We just need to use this time of pandemic to seek for an opportunities which can help us find our starting point for our success in the future.

Everyone should share their own idea, it is not needed that you are bright to be successful. If we could share our idea we are more open for assistant which help us gain knowledge and leads us to grow. Which might lead us in helping the community. In the business there is success and failure but the necessary think is that you believe in yourself. We can grab this chance while we are a student, we could create our own business while there a lot of people or organization that can help during the process of building the business like the Technology Business Incubation.

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BLOG NO.6

While watching the virtual lecture I was very inspired in the journey and insights of the first speaker which was Mr. Kit Laurence Nacua a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Psychology in Xavier University Ateneo de Cagayan. The first lecture was all about the startup journey of Mr. Kit and he is an experience incubate. He come up with the application “Ehatid” store which is a grocery delivery platform base on Cagayan de Oro. They also serve other stores but focus in grocery because of the high demands and the needs of target market.

Last year he attend a seminar one of the speaker is a programmer, he discuss about businesses who flourish through application development. He wants to make his idea of having a convenient way of grocery into reality but he only has a traditional knowledge and have no prior experience on startup which made the situation difficult. And he found a bunch of company who also did delivery services, he was express because he saw that they have a lot of partnership that they made like metro mart in manila which was the biggest grocery app in the Philippines. The reason for this is that the business model is focuses on Hire a shopper model which render the company (application) as a shopper in a mall. The model was created because people want convenience and want to find someone to trust.

He has come up with this idea to implement it in Cagayan which show a promising future. During the process of the operations he finds the in and out of the delivery application and even the limitation. By knowing this things they could start to enhance and develop step by step. They change on how they operate, the one who pack now the grocery is the partnered store itself not the employee of the Ehatid Application which is more convenience but the minimum was 5,000 worth of grocery items. There were challenges that they face like if the items that the customers’ needs is not available they need to call them and inform them about the problem which increase their expense during daily operation. They need to lessen the call which solve by his sister she has found a team who have an application which named Ehatud. They were persuaded to team-up which they decided to continue the name Ehatid, there were a lot of changes happen even their vision. Now their application is more precise which they created an ordering platform and delivering platform.

With the recent event which is the pandemic, making grocery store very risky. If they line up in the store they might be gotten sick but with Ehatid Store Application grocery will be safer. So right now they have a lot more customer amidst this situation that why they were thinking to expand from meat, vegetable and fruits but there were a time that their company experienced a detrimental situation that’s why they have decided to just give up with the other partner store just focus on one. And as time pass by they have realize that it is not safe to rely only on the pandemic situation for marketing because it is not permanent. With the help of CDO B.I.T.E.S their vision, mission and target market were polish.

They have experience a lot of failures and stumble with the challenges that they have encountered that is why they have decided to set a lot of things free and just focus on one thing. It’s like they took a bite but hard to swallow. They were gaining stability but it was very painful journey losing some customers during the process.

The competitive advantages of “Ehatid” is first its transparency, what customers see in the app that will be the customers pay exactly. Next is scalable, they don’t own a store or motor just focus to their application. They just collaborate with other people who can help with the operations. Customer service, even the demand increase they will also increase their staff to accommodate their customers. They don’t promote their store but the store promote itself.  Another advantage is the competition that is generated in the platform. The business model were very transparent and there is a large competition happening. Customers could compare the price of different stores in the application and others stores wants also to be part with this platform to earn profit by being part with the competition.

Mistake is crucial in order to learn, but sometime mistake is very expensive like marketing mistake so we just need to follow the incubation program to avoid unnecessary mistakes. Every decision we made we need to think it through. We may take risk but make it calculated that is why there are sacrifices that happen, letting go of some opportunity that we might encountered.

The next speaker during virtual lecture is Mrs. Geisha Mae Getuaban a graduate of BS in information technology in University Science and Technology Southern Philippines USTP and work as an I.T specialist in CDO B.I.T.E.S. The next topic was all about the introduction to Technology Business Incubation. Technology Business Incubation is a type of business incubator focused on supporting startups which use modern technologies as the primary means of innovation.

A lot of startup are being generated everyday but a lot also of them failed. The reason for failure might be that their ideas is not proper, their product does not solve anything and bad teams. With the help of CDO B.I.T.E.S you may know thoroughly your ideas and concept deeply, if it is feasible or not. It’s like the incubate will be the baby and the Technology Business Incubation will be the walker, they will help them step by step until they could achieve their goal.

CDO B.I.T.E.S was establish in 2016, they already come up with 190 events and have 8,000 attendees. They have 9 stakeholder, 21 partners and 14 collaborations. They have already generated 51 incubatees and 15 of them are already graduated. As of October 2020, those incubates had already generated a total revenue of Php. 37.7 Million and at the same time generated more than 200 jobs.

Their Banner Programs:

Spark track- helps sharpen their skills. Validate if the idea is a startup or it is just only an idea.

Fire starter- heart of CDO B.I.T.E.S, undergoing pre-incubation program. Specialize sessions that can help them along the process.

Beacon demo day- serves as a graduation activity. This is the time that investors are present during the pitching.

Road show- promotional and awareness drive reaching entrepreneurial minds to show case technologies.

Brownbag session- exclusive to the students, who have little idea on startup.

Bite and brew session- networking, sharing their experience and challenges during their startup.

Bonfire – Entrepreneur’s meet up, hangout and talk to each other.

Services offer:

Office space and internet access- for six months

Development and facilities- aid for business planning

Co-incubation programs- help accelerate incubates

Network and marketing

Training and mentoring- help incubates to grow more

Branding and IP protection

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BLOG NO.5

I learn a lot from the first virtual lecture which happen through Google Meet even though I did not participate because it is pre-recorded, I really think that it is quite satisfactory for me as a business administration student. It was eventful for me because the lecture is all about the startup ecosystem in the Philippines and why do you start now. The guest speaker for this event is Mr. Constantino A. Brasileño Jr. who graduated from Mindanao State University, BSBA major in entrepreneurial Marketing.

Startup was greatly emphasized in the discussion which helps me to comprehend the deeper meaning of startup to us future entrepreneurs. From what I learn startup is unorthodox business model what I mean is introducing new idea (Product or Services) that immediately solve a problem for the market which can be disruptive in a sense that it can change the way we are living. It is very different to a common business model which was already proven and determine to gain income because their already a lot of consumers who patronize the product or services. Just like Facebook early stage, way back 2009 this platform was new and there is a lot of uncertainties because it is in the process of development and enhancement. However in the present it become one of the famous social media platform which widely patronized by the world. Unfortunately not all startup are lucky because a lot of them failed, need too much capital, full of uncertainties & risk, and pose as useless for struggling countries.

The downside in our country is that it has a weaker ecosystem for startup which show in the statistics of investment into Southeast Asia that Philippines is at the lowest the same with the GDP which is lower than the revenue of 4 companies in the US. Even though Philippines is becoming a tech country and known to its many users of social media due to having western mind, our country has the lowest internet speed in ASEAN which hinder startups to gain advantage with the advancement of technology. But Filipinos are known to its talent that's why a lot of companies in the Silicon Valley which has a strong ecosystem for startup have employees who are a Filipino. What would you think would happen when all of those Filipino will be in one company in our country, I think it might have a large possibility of success.

Philippines is gearing to be more startup friendly country which I think would be helpful for the country to become better. The country has a lot of problem that needs to be solve compared to those first world country. Startups could create solution for the challenges experiencing by the country. From what I learn in the lecture, startup begins from ideas, thought or identifying your own skill and integrate it in solving problem in a unorthodox way through the use of uncertain method while testing it if its working or not. But for me the most important thing to do first is to understand the ecosystem in order know what is present in the environment which might help our startup to be advantageous.

According to the speaker anyone is capable to create startup you just need capable people to make it complete. There are so could three founders which is the hustler, hacker and the hipster. Their responsibility is to be in charge, to build and to make the things appealing to the market.

As a student, establishing a startup right now would be more advantageous because there will be a lot who can coach us inside the university. It can give us an allowance for failure which help us gain more experience and knowledge. We could just fail fast and learn faster. Unfortunately failure is normal occurrence because startup is full of uncertain and risk. We can tell that not all are design to be an entrepreneur but being student have an opportunity to develop the competencies and skill needed to become a successful entrepreneur. But we need to ensure that we are living okay. There are a lot of people who are stressing with their startup. You can just stop first to ensure that your health is okay and make yourself stronger. Then comeback to redeem yourself.

It is really perfect time for us to venture in startup. Sadly, fear hinder us from starting because of the unpredictability of startup. We can overcome our fear by just taking the first step which is to just start. And with the help with time we can handle our fear step by step. The true failure for us is that we didn't try because we will not know if we succeeded or not. The best part for trying is the experience that we have gain which can be used for future endeavour.

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BLOG NO.4

Before my team could start for week 7 and 8, our leader consult first Mrs. Sudaria about her comments on our 1 Page Presentation if we could continue or not the progress of our output which is the application development namely "Jtap". And according to Ma'am Sudaria we could proceed and continue to enhance the features of the application. Aside from that we also need to identify on how we can earn from the said application. It needs to be specific on the monetary value which generated from the target market, the "Job Seekers" and the "Employer". After that we also need to consult an I.T expert on how we could develop the application.

We tried our best to find a knowledgeable person in creating an application. One of the team have known someone who is an I.T graduate which he consulted about our concern. After he consult the person we discuss through messenger video chat.

DOCUMENTATION

RESULT OF THE HYPOTHESIS

The result of consultation with an I.T expert is positive. Our idea can become reality through software application development. We just need to enhance the feature that we had come up with and add more if it beneficial. We can just consult again if the idea is feasible or not. And one to take note about what he said is in order for us to succeed in our endeavor it needs to have a good marketing plan so that our target market would want to download our application and can maintain them as a user. 

For security purpose and safety to both side the IT suggested that after the application is downloaded there will be a registration first so that the system know what are the user looking for. Also we should include the policy and regulation to avoid illegal transactions and to avoid to be ban in the application and the applicant required to put clear picture of government id for applicant and business permit for employers for checking their backgrounds before they can access the platform.

DECISION OF THE GROUP

From the feedback that we receive from our teacher and also from an I.T expert we decided to continue further in improving the features of our application in order for the target market experience convenience using the platform but we need to consider what the I.T expert opinion is, if the idea is plausible or not.  

LEARNINGS

This time I learn that an entrepreneurs need access to an extensive pool of knowledge in order to gain power or capability in creating a new product or services without obstruction. Just like what my team experience, each of us don't have expertise in creating an application which really hinder us to progress. We can come up easily with ideas in how to solve problems for our target market but it is different in creating the final output which needed a lot of factors so that we could make our idea into reality.  That's why it is essential to have an ability to continuously learn is not just a key entrepreneurial skill, but also a very valuable life skill. Having a desire to learn can make us into good entrepreneur. I also learn the importance of connection and communication. What I mean is even though my team don't have knowledge on application development one of the members have a connection to person who is an I.T graduate. Through that person we learn what are needed in order for us to create our application which is the "Jtap".

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BLOG NO.3

Before we could start the data gathering this week we first implemented what the group decided last week. The team discuss this through Google Meet which fortunately we are complete and the flow of the meeting is harmonious. Through the discussion, we created new set of questions which is more incline in knowing if the target market can patronize our product and also with the topic of unemployment. With this we could tune the needs of our consumers to our application development.

This is the set of questions:

DOCUMENTATION

RESULT OF THE HYPOTHESIS

Through the use of interview as an instrument in testing the hypothesis, we discovered that 5 of the respondents download an application because of their needs and the other 3 is because of enjoyment. Most of the interviewee have not yet encountered this type of platform which focus on providing employment. Even one of them said that she only know about employment agency but not in a kind of application.

The group have encountered a positive outcome with respondents because all of the participants has responds that they will patronize our application. For them this type of platform can really be helpful for them. And also for them if they have a business or establishment they are all willing to invest to this type of application and even decided to use it as a platform to advertise their product or business.

More than half of the respondents thinks that our application can be really beneficial to a business in terms of advertisement and providing employees. And for them it can also help in solving the problem of employment especially now because of the pandemic a lot of people had been layoffs or been terminated which increase the unemployment in the country.

THE DECISION OF THE GROUP

Due to the positive feedback of our participants we would just continue to develop our plan in creating an application which can greatly help in solving employment. We would also ensure to implement each of their responds on question number 7. We will secure the personal data and information of our clients in order to be credible. And before we could operate we will ensure to provide all legal documents. We will perceive the customer review as significant and important through this we will improve our service. Committed to our vision and mission as priorities in order to ensure that we could reach the users expectation.

LEARNINGS

Starting from the modification of the questionnaires I learn that data gathering from interacting to our participants is very essential in gaining new insights which can have great effect to our product innovation. It allows us to stay on top of the trend what I mean is knowing what is the latest situation in the community which make the team more well informed. It can really provide answers to the problem though analysing the information that was collected. With the use of accurate data, creating or upgrading product can be more define which can cater more to the needs of the target market. From our experience the more relevant the information that we collected from interviewee, the more likely that the group make a good choice in regards to product development. Lastly it can also lead to an increase in understanding and decrease in uncertainty which very significant to the progress of our group.

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BLOG NO.2

The team decided to continue using the same set of questions when interviewing the new participants. We want to thoroughly know more about this topics before we could really focus on the first choice that we determine from week 1 and 2. The eight interviewee that participated in the activity were Jeovelle Cotoco, Rianne Macalood, June Andrei Paredes, Honey Grace Atamosa, Glorie Joy Aque, Chay Jimenez, Christine Faye Ordanza and lastly Rod Nikko Balista. We want to thank them on participating in our endeavor which was greatly useful to the progress of our project.

DOCUMENTATION

HYPOTHESIS TESTED 

Proceed with this Hypothesis:

If there is a desirable employment integration then people who is jobless can find work easily.

Using interview as a medium for testing the hypothesis, we learned that the result were the same from the first 2 weeks of data gathering which is job seeking today during this crises were really difficult for the unemployed. More than half of the interviewee have the same opinion about this topic. Even though some of them doesn't need a job but for them looking for a stable work would be hard and need sufficient effort to do so. With the danger and uncertainties this will be a challenge for them but with human nature they will always persevered just to provide the needs of the family, so that each one of them could eat properly the bread winner would venture out even amidst this pandemic.

Or Change Hypothesis with this option:

Ensuring Safety & Convenience can increase consumers buying power and their satisfaction

This also an option for our group which was the same degree with the job seeking problem. With the situation that online shopping were really popular now a days it was difficult for our group to decide if we continue or change the problem that we want to solve. From week 1 to week 4 there will be always some interviewee that have a problem with buying stuff or goods during the pandemic. With the danger when going outside their home buying things were difficult for them. They just want to ensure their safety when buying that why online store are currently trending. Even though the competition is fierce there are lot of improvement that can be implemented to the platform which ensures the distinction of our platform.

 Unsure security and safety increases the likelihood of considering and actual seeking help for psychological problems.

 The same with the result on the first 2 weeks of the interview, this problem is prominent to our participants which is very concerning situation. They have face both anxiety and stress during the changes that happening around them. What we mean is in order to adapt to this crises a lot of adjustment need to be implemented which leads to discomfort. And releasing bad vibes by going outside is a big NO that is why some of them are becoming more stress inside their home. We want to solve this problem through application and website which can also ensure their safety.

THE DECISION OF THE GROUP

The group just decided to continue to develop the application (Jtap) that helps unemployed to seek job for different professions in several industries. They could find suitable work for them through the platform. We want to give the citizen an opportunity to have stable job who just want to have livelihood that can sustain their needs and for their family. Providing the chance to find work in a safe manner without compromising their own health especially during this pandemic there will danger when going outside their home. When applying and seeking a job it will be easier and convenient because they just have to download the application and create an account.

There are no big changes to the features and function of the application we decide to just proceed and determine how the target market can patronize our platform. That why we come up with the idea to change our questions of our interviewee and must in line with the topic of employment and application.

LEARNINGS

In this week of interacting with the participants and co-members I learn that teamwork is very essential in order to complete the work perfectly. Especially now face to face interaction is prohibited which greatly impact the work. But through the cooperation with the group we come up with great ideas by combining each other’s creativity. Mainly when gathering data and information there are a lot of them that is hard to decide which one to focus to. We need to discuss thoroughly in order to ensure that our decision will be right. Even though there are small contradiction with the ideas we know that each one of us need to respect one another to assure that teamwork are implemented which is really important in the endeavor.

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BLOG NO.1

Before we could undertake the interview we decide to discuss first our plan in order for our actions to be smooth. That is why on September 15 we did a conference using Google Meet which we share our ideas on how we could do the interview. We decided to create a set of questions for the participants together with their demographic information.

So here is the narrative for each of our interviewee:

Ms. Iresh Joy Colero 23 year’s old and working as an admin staff in one of the companies in Valencia City was been interviewed to participate in our endeavor to discover challenges and problems that she encounter which me and my group can solve through innovation. We discovered she has a lot of difficulties amidst this pandemic like buying goods, selling farm products, public transportation, lower income because of skeletal work and prohibited social events. Suppose there is available work even if she already have a job she would grab this opportunity especially if it is a remote work. If there is none it would be very hard to quit and find new job during this pandemic. This crises slows down economic activities. She observe that more private establishments considered retrenchment in order to prevent further losses due to lack of market or slump in demand. The last part of the interview, asking her if she had felt stress and anxiety during lockdown which she said yes.

We also interviewed Ms. Aira May T. Morgia 21 year’s old and a student in Palawan State University. She stated that with this pandemic, many things have changed around her. These changes brought nothing but an option to adopt and adapt. As she is a student who is used to with the traditional learning, the pandemic has changed the system of education by shifting from the traditional mode to online learning which become difficult for her. Learning has become intense due to external interventions like slow or unstable internet connection and financial troubles. For her looking for a job amidst this pandemic would be very hard which worsen the level of unemployment. Even before the virus has erupted, many people find it hard to enter the labor force even after having a degree. The same case with people whose educational attainment are in high school. And with the condition we are in, many businesses are affected, operations were disrupted and some even went to bankruptcy that leads to many people being unemployed. With that being said, the situation we are in made it even hard to find a job because of the crisis. Even if there is available job she would not take it because being outside is harmful due to the exposure to virus. She don't want  risk the lives of her family that is why she prefer remote working but for now she would just focus on her studies especially online class is very difficult. She also been stress out due to this pandemic. For her experiencing anxiety and stress is normal especially that we are staying at home doing our work or to study, and it comes with our responsibility at home. We do not have the leisure to unwind by having a fresh air and that intensify the negativity that we are feeling.

Mr. Aristotle Santarita Jr. 28 year’s old, working as a government employee participated as well in our interview. For him, working is really mentally draining in terms of securing his safety due to his daily transaction on different customers regarding their queries and request. It is also a problem for him about those customers who don't observe proper and strict safety protocols. His opinion on searching for a job today is very hard because a lot of establishment were closing and claim bankruptcy especially those private firms. Public employment also postpone hiring and selection process mandated by national office (Civil Service Commission). That is why there is no announcement for job vacancies during this pandemic. Even though some departments in the government are in needs for new employees like DepEd and DICT this crisis might hinder them in applying for the job. If there is an available job especially remote work he would grab that chance but as long as he could or capable to perform the needed tasks. He did not encounter any stress and anxiety because he is much aware on how to avoid and stop transmitting the virus. He is happy to follow safety protocols and he for see this with silver lining and with all his heart. Especially he is a government employee, it's their advocacy to protect the people and primary responsibility to serve & give the best interest to the community.

Ms. Mariz Dacog 22 year’s old working as a PSA enumerator is also one of the participants. The most common problem that she encounter today is searching for a job. Due to her being a fresh graduate finding a job is difficult which requires eligibility. This crises has made different events and activities to be postpone like civil service and board exam which is very important in applying for a certain job position. Aside for the difficulties in going outside looking for a job which is applicable for her degree is very hard. If there is available job, better if it is a remote work she would take this opportunity. She don't mind if it hard and not applicable in her course. She just want to provide the daily needs of her family. As she experience being PSA enumerator, every day she needs to interview and at night she would edit it might be hard for her but this experience helped in enhancing her capabilities and to adapt in different environment. She also didn't experience any stress and anxiety during this crises because of her support system which is her family.

Next is Mr. Hazzen Khier Maestre 19 year’s old and a student also participated in the interview. His problem during the pandemic is the challenge of going outside. There is a lot of safety protocols that is needed to be done as part of the community. Currently he don't need any job because he is already have online business which is very favourable in ensuring his safety. He can earn money without risking his life. For him finding a job today is very difficult especially it is well known that there is a lot of employees who were fired or have been layoff. Besides there is a hiring freeze due to this pandemic. He didn't encounter any stress because he has more time in his family while also earning  and saving money is a lot more easier because there are less expense.

Ms. Jinky Catacutan 41 year’s old and working as an accounting clerk. The challenges that she encounter is wearing face mask and face shield. Also for her looking for a job today is difficult because some companies are closing if not they would do layoffs to cut cost. To support her needs and to survive she would accept the job it would we a bonus if it is a remote work. She encountered stress and anxiety during the lockdowns

We also interviewed Ms. Janine Florendo 20 year’s old and a student. During the pandemic she did not encountered any problems and challenges because she can easily adapt to the changes that happened to her. For her finding a job would be hard because we can't go out due to lockdowns. If there is any available job she would take this opportunity and due to current situation it is better if it is a remote work in order to secure the safety of her family. She also did not encounter any stress and anxiety during this pandemic.

Last is Ms. Uzziel Banaag 24 year’s old and working as a teacher at Liceo de Cagayan University was also been interviewed through Google Meet. The difficulties that she encountered is finding a job which is related to her course in teaching and the school did not even told them or any follow up if there is a job for them to return. And finding a job for her is hard especially her course is related to teaching, more or less they prioritize those who are connected to their graduated degree. Even if there is available job she would not take due to pandemic and she also has a contract in the school. If there is no hindrances she would prefer work from home. She was stress from the first day of lockdown which she overcome through prayer. She had share her thoughts to her friend through chat but it was not helpful, it was just treated as a joke. Commuting also hard for her because of physical appearance which she looks like a high student or underage rather than an adult. That's why she always need to show her company I.D in order to pass the check points.

INTERVIEW THROUGH GOOGLE MEET 

SCREENSHOTS OF INTERVIEW THROUGH CHAT

HYPOTHESIS TESTED AND RESULT

If there is a desirable employment integration then people who is jobless can find work easily.

With interview as a method in testing the hypothesis we discovered that 6 of the participant prefer work from home (remote work) rather than within or outside the city. They just want to secure their own safety also their families. Even though not all of them are in need for a job but for them it will be difficult to find work amidst this pandemic. There are a lot of reasons for this which they have said during the interview. Mostly they said that more companies are closing because of the slowing of the economy or some businesses took action by doing layoff to cut expense. Even before the pandemic, if you have no connection when finding a job there will always be uncertainties, you might be hired or not. But now finding a job will be more difficult aside from the uncertainties there is also the danger from the virus when you go outside your house. That is why seeking job today is a challenge but even though there is uncertainties and danger a lot of people would venture out in order to provide the needs of their family. It very essential now to find another way to seek job without harming ourselves.

THE DECISION OF THE GROUP

The group final decision is to launch an application that provide service in offering job openings for different professions in several industries. Our mission is to provide opportunities for Filipino's who are looking for livelihood. Especially now amidst this pandemic a lot lost their job and become unemployed that's why we created this so that we could provide a chance for them to find a job in a safe way.

It is easier for them to apply and seek a job because they just have to download the application and create an account, they no longer need to go outside and seek different establishment to find job opening. There will be more job available that match the degree of the applicant giving them the opportunity to have their desired work. The application have this function that can find job near the applicant’s home. During this crises we are more focus on providing remote work so that they could secure their own safety and especially their families. They could save more money from commuting it means they have less expense.

After creating an account the application will ask your identity which we have two "Jobseekers" and "Employers". The employer will have this capability to seek their desired employees so that they could find the right one. In a way that they could examine them personally. They could set the schedule for the interview and this will happened through online. As an employer they could also advertise their business and product through the said application but they need to pay for the service. We will ensure the security of both jobseekers and employers information. The employers will only see the necessary data of the applicants.

OTHER OPTIONS

Unsure security and safety increases the likelihood of considering and actual seeking help for psychological problems.

Half of our interviewee have encountered stress and anxiety during the lockdowns. They are over thinking things like what if they will caught the virus which might also spread to their family. Going outside to relax and unwind is also not allowed which make them more stress at their home.

There is a positive relationship between online learning support and quality to student’s satisfaction.

Only one of the interviewee had a difficulty on her online class because of unstable internet and financial problem. Even though she is the only one, my group is also a student and all of us also have a problem about online learning.

We decide to solve the problem about finding a job because almost all of the interviewee see it as a challenge. The other two option is really hard for us even though we want to solve it because it is a timely issue but our group is not capable yet to create a feasible innovation.

LEARNINGS

During those 2 weeks of interview I learn a lot of things throughout the process of gathering information for our endeavor in knowing world problems that the group could solve through innovation. I learn that by interacting with the participants to their natural environment we could extract authentic information which greatly impact our research. In a way that they can be honest throughout the interview. Even though we could only interview one participant in Google Meet, I observe that she is relax during the Q&A portion because she is in her natural environment. She behave naturally when interacting with us which greatly help her to open up her own problem to us.

What we are doing now can be could as a remote research and I learn that through using internet and different application your connection will be wider which is convenient to us. Our participants are far from us but through using technology we could gather data more easily and we could secure the safety of my co-members and the participants.

From the interview also I learn that some of them have experience stress and anxiety during the lockdown but some are not. I discovered what difference they have which is their support system. Mostly those who did not encounter mental breakdown are those who spent their lockdown time with their family. Having someone to share their feelings can overcome this challenge. I also encounter anxiety but I just neglect it knowing that it might be gone through time.