25/09/2026
Quezon City University (QCU), through the Innovation and Technology Support Office (QCU-ITSO), in collaboration with the College of Engineering (COE), successfully conducted its 2-Day Intellectual Property and Patent Search Workshops for 4th-year engineering students.
The activities were conducted for 4th-year Industrial Engineering (IE) students on September 3–4, 2026, followed by Batch 2 for 4th-year Electronics and Communications Engineering (ECE) students on September 17–18, 2026.
The workshops introduced students to the fundamentals of Intellectual Property (IP), including patents, utility models, industrial designs, and QCU policies related to student projects. The first half of Day 1 was led by Engr. Crystalynne D. Cortez, ITSO Coordinator for the College of Engineering.
The remaining sessions of Day 1 and the entire Day 2 were facilitated by Prof. Maria Aura C. Impang, General Manager of QCU-ITSO, who guided the students through hands-on patent searching using actual patent databases.
Working in teams, the students explored existing technologies related to their engineering project ideas. They practiced developing effective search terms, identifying relevant patent documents, and reviewing existing technologies that may be related to their proposed projects.
As part of the workshop, the participants completed three key activities:
Problem-Solution Approach – breaking down their project ideas and identifying the problem they aim to address;
Search Matrix – organizing and refining keywords and search strategies; and
Patent Search Report – documenting and analyzing their patent search findings.
The workshops concluded with group presentations and discussions, where the students shared their search results and received guidance and feedback from Prof. Impang on how they could further improve their patent search strategies.
Innovation is not only about creating something new—it is also about knowing what already exists and finding ways to develop better solutions.
Through initiatives like these, QCU-ITSO and the College of Engineering continue to equip students with practical knowledge and skills to explore, develop, innovate, and protect their ideas as they take their first steps toward engineering innovation.
