Ms. Mitzi Almira Garcia, Director of the Palawan International Technology Business Incubator (PITBI), participated in the “Strengthening Organizational Practices to Address Talent Exploitation in Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology Research & Development” hosted by Health Security Partners (HSP) and the Association of Innovative Educational Research (AIER) held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 7–9 September 2026.
On Day 2, Ms. Garcia served as a panel speaker for Session 8: “Aligning Institutional Functions for Effective Safeguards,” where she shared the University’s research security processes and emphasized the importance of safeguarding research while enabling meaningful collaboration. Research security encompasses the policies and practices that protect researchers, research outputs, intellectual property, sensitive information, and technologies from misuse, unauthorized access, exploitation, and other emerging risks.
Building on her discussion, Ms. Garcia emphasized: “𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩, 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘦, 𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴: x𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮?”
Strengthening research security can help Palawan State University protect its research and intellectual assets, manage risks in external collaborations, and establish safer pathways for technology transfer and commercialization. For researchers and innovators, it provides greater confidence to share, pitch, and collaborate while recognizing what information, knowledge, and technologies require protection.
The engagement also opened a new avenue for international collaboration, as Ms. Garcia secured a commitment toward a formal partnership with the Association of Innovative Educational Research (AIER), a Malaysian nonprofit organization committed to advancing strategic, secure, and sustainable technology transfer across academia, industry, and government. The prospective partnership presents opportunities to further strengthen PITBI and PalawanSU’s capabilities in research security, technology transfer, innovation, and cross-border collaboration.
Through international engagements and strategic partnerships, PITBI continues to strengthen PalawanSU’s research and innovation ecosystem, creating opportunities for researchers and innovators while ensuring that collaboration and technology transfer are pursued responsibly and securely.
