Accelerating Schools and Chemicals Industry Engagements for Nurturing Development (ASCEND) is a flagship initiative under the Board of Investments’ (BOI) Academe-Industry Matching (AIM!) Program. Developed in strategic partnership with the Samahan sa Pilipinas ng Industriyang Kimika (SPIK), ASCEND is designed to bridge the gap between higher education institutions (HEIs) and the Philippine chemicals industry in fostering long-term, structured collaborations that drive innovation, workforce development, and sustainable industrial growth.
At its core, ASCEND empowers academia and industry to co-create solutions, and align research with real-world industry needs. Through strong partnerships, ASCEND helps cultivate a talent pool equipped with relevant skills and promotes research that directly contributes to the competitiveness of the chemicals sector which helps ensure that education and research are aligned with evolving industry needs.
To support this mission, ASCEND is developing two key tools:
A practical guide featuring models, frameworks, and real-world case studies to help HEIs and industry partners initiate, manage, and sustain collaborations.
A digital hub that enables real-time partnership matching, project exchange, knowledge sharing, and engagement between stakeholders.
These tools address common challenges such as gaps in communication, misaligned goals, and barriers to joint R&D by offering accessible, scalable, and data driven solutions. Together, BOI and SPIK envision ASCEND in contributing to a more future-ready, resilient, and innovation-driven Philippine Economy.
A flagship program under BOI’s AIM! and the Philippine Chemical Industry Roadmap for bridging HEIs and Chemical Companies to drive innovation and collaboration
A listing of undergraduate research and development studies from participating HEIs
Complete the idea form to propose a topic for industry-academe collaboration.
This section is currently being developed as we gather the latest job listings from our chemical industry partners. Stay tuned—new opportunities are on the way!
A practical guide to help HEIs and industry partners initiate, manage, and sustain collaborations
BOI and SPIK launch ASCEND to strengthen industry-academe collaboration, boosting innovation, research, and skills in the chemical sector....
ASCEND and UP Diliman strengthen industry-academia collaboration to boost chemical research, innovation, and talent development....
ASCEND gains CHED support to connect universities with the chemical industry through a collaborative database platform....
BOI, SPIK, and ASCEND meet DLSU Engineering Dean to strengthen industry-academe collaboration and research impact....
ASCEND meets DOST-ITDI to strengthen research-to-industry collaboration and align academic research with industry needs....
ASCEND partners with UPLB-TTBDO to boost student research commercialization and strengthen academe-industry collaboration....
The ASCEND Workshop united industry, academia, and government to align academic programs with chemical industry needs, fostering innovation and sustainability....
