I finally got to meet the man behind the highly successful expo roadshow in the provinces.  Melvin Ferrer, the man behind ConvergeX Asia, has been staging Innovations Expo since 2004.

Melvin got the idea of organizing the first ever expo when he attended the 3rd UP Public Lecture in 2004.  He was inspired after listening to DOST Secretary Estrella Alabastro talk about the National Innovations System.  In her presentation, she highlighted the importance of knowledge flows and relationships among industry, government, and academia and making them work systematically to sustain innovation and science and technology development efforts.

When he went back to Cabanatuan City in Nueva Ecija, he thought of a COMDDAP-style activity that he would initially stage there.  In that same year, ConvergeX, an event management start up, created a venue for government researches, industry technologies, academic initiatives, and innovative products to converge.

Innovations Expo brings together under one roof different sectors including agriculture, information technology, inventors, telecommunications, academia, and science and technology.  Students, who are the main audience of the activity, get to learn the latest in technology innovations and to meet experts and innovators without having to go to Manila. 

Besides the exhibiting the works of the partner institutions/organizations, the Innovations Expo also showcases the products of local talents where the event is held to prove that the provinces are not behind when it comes to technology.

Although he admits that he cannot please everybody based on some of the feedback he got because apparently the very minimal entrance fee he charges for the event is still steep by provincial standards but the learning the students will acquire is worth more than 50 to 70 pesos they pay for.  Besides the complaints about the fees that really costs less than a meal at Jollibee or McDonalds, participants were pretty satisfied with what they saw and were motivated to pursue similar undertakings in the future.  Melvin assures me that each expo is different from the last and each event offers something new to the attendees.

To encourage research and development, he has put up a sort of a grant for his partners to come up with exhibit materials be they researcher, innovations, or products which he will fund so students will have something to look forward to in each Expo.

His business model is very simple.  He forges partnerships with the various sectors, brings their products or researches to the venue - travel and accommodations all paid for by ConvergeX - gets some sponsors, and then bring in the students who pay to get a look at the exhibit.  He admits that the bottom line is not that big but the intangibles are what counts for him.  He has also been investing on hardware and equipment because according to him it’s cheaper in the long run than renting them.

Innovations Expo is Melvin’s way of exposing the youth to technology to start them young.  He intends to be able to reach 100,000 students by year end in ten provinces covering Northern and Southern Luzon.  And with airlines offering good deals this year, he plans to cover Visayas and Mindanao as well.

I have only good wishes and prayers for this man.  What Melvin lacks in height he makes up for with his lofty vision for the youth of the land inspired by his idols Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.

The next expo will be held in July.

(For feedback, comments, suggestions email me at openingpagemb@yahoo.com)