INCUBATION POLICY

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INCUBATION POLICY

De La Salle Lipa

NEXUS Innovations Labs

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INCUBATION POLICY De La Salle Lipa 1. I

NTRODUCTION

De La Salle Lipa (DLSL) envisions itself to be a platform for students and Lasallian Partners to become changemakers, social innovators and entrepreneurs – a community acting to address and solve the world’s biggest problems as outlined in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs)¹ with a focus on the Philippine situation. It is in this context that DLSL is committed to foster a culture which allows for the integration and balance consideration of the social, economic, and environmental goals while innovation and entrepreneurship thrive within the confines of DLSL’s physical and digital campus under its Incubation Programs.

Incubation is now an important part of the educational landscape at DLSL to realize its mission of preparing students for more meaningful and rewarding careers by helping them develop new products, start social movements and launch busines ventures. Incubation also serves as the gateway for Lasallian Partners to be active changemakers working to address challenges with results that are transformative for the benefit of society.

As DLSL lives up to its commitment of building a society founded on equity and justice and on sustainable and inclusive development, an Incubation Program has been set up under NEXUS Innovations Labs as a platform for social innovators and entrepreneurs to test, validate, grow, and eventually scale their ideas.

The Incubation Policy sets down a clear and sound framework to guide the DLSL community in embracing the Incubation and Acceleration Programs and activities, with an entrepreneurial mindset resulting in the creation of solutions to real world problems and bringing them to the marketplace.

The objective of the De La Salle Lipa Incubation Policy is to contribute to the achievement of DLSL’s Strategic Intents of Building a Sustainable and Inclusive Society to attract and retain entrepreneurial students, Lasallian Partners, and researchers, and to forge connections between industry and academe by:

a. Developing capabilities that will support commercialization activities starting from the vulnerable inception stages in a sustainable manner that will turn business ideas into successful new ventures that have a greater-than-average chance of success or revenue stream opportunity; and,

1 The United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are outlined in the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs here: https://sdgs.un.org/goals.

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b. Creating inclusive, sustainable, and strong entrepreneurship infrastructure supports and access to resources and linkages to stimulate the creation of value-based innovation entrepreneurship and startup companies.

2. P

^OLICY

S

^TATEMENT

DLSL recognizes the changing landscape of education and its mission in providing business incubator spaces and resources to expand the social impact of Intellectual Property generated at DLSL towards building a society founded on equity and justice and on sustainable and inclusive development.

DLSL is committed to provide an enabling business incubator environment for development and creativity collision designed to scale up businesses or generate revenue streams through collaborations with commercialization partners. In this context, DLSL will make available the comprehensive and integrated business incubation and acceleration infrastructure and services to aid collaboration in the development and acceleration of next generation solutions and outcomes to real-world problems for the benefit of society.

3. D

EFINITION OF

T

^ERMS

3.1 Business Accelerator. A business accelerator is a program that gives developing startups and enterprises access to mentorship, investors and other support services that help them become stable, self-sufficient businesses.²

3.2 Commercialization. Any form of utilization of Intellectual Property intended to generate a marketable product or service, commercial returns, or similar monetary benefits as well as non-monetary or non-revenue generating output that has societal benefits and impact. Commercialization includes assignment, licensing, start-up, spin-off, etc., as well as non-profit use or donation.³

3.3 Confidential Information. Any information in any form including but not limited to orally transmitted information or electronically stored information or written information of a confidential nature or relating to any Intellectual Property Rights which is owned or controlled or may in the future be owned or controlled by DLSL, disclosure of which may in any way endanger or invalidate the ability of DLSL to properly protect or utilize such.⁴

3.4 Human-Centered Design. The Human-Centered Design (HCD) Framework is a process and a set of techniques used to develop and create concepts, prototypes, and solutions to real-world problems. It is a framework that guides the process of developing novel solutions to identified problems. ⁵

2 Adapted from Business Development Bank of Canada at https://www.bdc.ca/en/articles-tools/entrepreneur- toolkit/templates-business-guides/glossary/business-accelerator.

3 Adapted from the DLSL Intellectual Property Policy.

5 Adapted from the IDEO.org Design Kit at https://www.designkit.org/human-centered-design.

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3.5 Incubatee. An entrepreneur or innovator who has entered into an agreement with the NEXUS Innovations Labs’ Business Incubator Program to enable himself/herself to develop and produce high impact innovative products for commercialization.

3.6 Incubation. A process of nurturing businesses, including social enterprises and start-ups, from business ideation to business ventures formation and helping them grow and become successful by providing physical working spaces, proof-of- concept validation, market testing, business setup, and products or software assistance.

3.7 Intellectual Property. Creations of the mind may take the form of copyrights, patents, and trademarks and similar or other forms of creation that are vested with rights and privileges as well as duties and responsibilities under the law, jurisprudence, and contracts.⁶

3.8 NEXT Innovation. NEXT Innovation is De La Salle Lipa’s brand of Social Innovation.

It embraces the role of schools in social transformation, acknowledging its key accountability in building a sustainable and inclusive society that includes the least, the last, and the lost. Our brand of Social Innovation works to solve societal problems through next-generation tools, strategies and enhancements of the learning experience, purposeful multi-disciplinary collaboration and the creation of social impact that can be scaled for greater reach.

3.9 Pre-incubation. The learning and development within the business plan environment, in which the participants develop their own business idea and access the support needed for doing it. Pre-incubation serves as a pre-filter for new feasible business ideas to strengthen the integral business proposition and to prepare for the incubation selection procedure.

3.10 Royalty. The payment made to an owner or licensor of a particular asset/right for the use of such asset/right.

3.11 Startup. A startup is a company that is in the first stage of its operations. These companies are often initially bankrolled by their entrepreneurial founders as they attempt to capitalize on developing a product or service for which they believe there is a demand.

3.12 Seed Funding. Seed Funding is the process of providing financial resources where an investor or funder invests capital in exchange for an equity or stake in the new venture. Seed funding can be provided in the form of ignition or innovation grants, prototype development and others.

3.13 Social Enterprises. Social enterprises are new models of enterprise that find the balance to focus on the financial health of the enterprise while also looking at ensuring the achievement of community-based social impact. While traditional enterprises focus solely on the financial bottom line, social enterprises give additional focus towards the achievement of societal and environmental impact.

3.14 Social Innovation. Social Innovation is a novel solution to a social problem that is more effective, efficient, sustainable, or just to existing solutions and for which the

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value created accrues primarily to society as a whole rather than private individuals.

4. S

^COPE

The policy applies to students and Lasallian Partners of De La Salle Lipa including

consultants and external partners who embrace and engage in the strategic direction of building a society founded on equity and justice and on sustainable and inclusive

development through the NEXUS Incubation Program.

5. A

^{REAS OF}

I

^NTEREST

DLSL will support students, Lasallian Partners, researchers, and innovators whose works/projects have potential high social impact, and which have very good

opportunities to be a successful business ventures as social enterprises or start-ups.

The areas of interest for social innovation projects under the NEXUS Innovations Labs Incubation Program are anchored on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the United Nations (UN). The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) are a set of seventeen (17) international goals established by the United Nations in June 2012.

5.1 No Poverty 5.2 Zero Hunger

5.3 Good Health and Well-Being 5.4. Quality Education

5.5. Gender Equality

5.6. Clean Water and Sanitation 5.7 Affordable and Clean Energy

5.8. Decent Work and Economic Growth 5.9 Industry Innovation and Infrastructure 5.10 Reduced Inequalities

5.11 Sustainable Cities and Communities

5.12 Responsible Consumption and Reproduction 5.13 Climate Action

5.14 Life Below Water 5.15 Life on Land

5.16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions 5.17 Partnership for the Goals

In consultation with industry partners, NEXUS Innovations Labs will determine on an annual basis the specific focus areas under the UN Sustainable Development Goals from which to invite and select promising projects for possible incubation.

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6. E

LIGIBILITY

C

^RITERIA

Any students, Lasallian Partners, researchers, or innovators who have a venture idea and wish to avail of DLSL’s Incubation Program must apply at NEXUS Innovations Labs along with required documents. The proposals for incubation shall be IP-based or have social and strategic impacts with a potential for resource generation and job creation.

6.1 Student teams which have been endorsed by the Academic Screening Committee are automatically considered for the incubation selection pool pending submission of the admission requirements. The team shall have a minimum number of three (3) students with at least one (1) faculty adviser.

6.2 Lasallian Partners and/or external partners’ teams shall be composed of a minimum number of three (3) proponents. Full-time and Part-time partners may apply.

6.3 The Incubation Program is also open to researchers and innovators from partner universities/institutions having research and development collaboration with DLSL as well as government agencies associated with DLSL research and innovations.

6.4 Other external partners that contribute to high impact IP generation may be invited to apply on a case-to-case basis.

7. A

^DMISSION

Admission to the DLSL Incubation Program is through the four (4) entry pathways which are aligned with the strategic social impact outcomes of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) and employ the Human-Centered Design (HCD) Framework:⁷

7.1 Promising CAPSTONE outputs of the Integrated School and Colleges.

7.2 Winners of the annual NEXT (Sustainability) Prize competition.

7.3 Grantees of the Office of Research and Publications’ (ORP) Research-Funded Project and Lasallian Partner’s applied research with fabrication component and commercial value.

7.4 Collaborative research projects with partner universities/institutions or government agencies.

As a first step in the admission process, the applicants should submit an Incubation Application containing the Project Plan based on the template to be supplied by NEXUS Innovations Labs. All the applicants will need to read and agree to the terms and conditions of the Incubation Program. Only then will their applications be processed.

7 Adapted from IDEO’s Design Kit at https://www.ideo.com/post/design-kit.

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8. S

^ELECTION

During the selection stage, proponents/teams with promising business ideas are evaluated and selected to participate in NEXUS Incubation Program. The purpose of an idea or venture competition is to promote entrepreneurship and to encourage participating teams to develop a viable business concept, to evaluate its appropriateness and potential success in the market, and to identify critical issues to resolve in the near future.

The Selection Committee uses a set of criteria to standardize the selection procedure to ensure that investment will produce business ventures with the highest chance of potential success.

8.1 Technology: How cutting-edge is the technology? Is it novel? Does it have potential for IP generation? What is the advantage it provides?

8.2 Business model: Is the business model convincing and compelling?

8.3 Market and scalability: How big is the potential market?

8.4 Team: Is the team strong, committed, and entrepreneurial? Are they capable of running the business?

8.5 Fitting into ecosystem: What is the added value for prevailing companies?

The Advisory Board of NEXUS made up of members with different profiles and

capabilities will serve as the Selection Committee. At least one member of the Selection Committee should have a link to a business incubator.

9. P

RESENTATION TO THE

S

ELECTION

C

OMMITTEE

Proponents admitted to the pre-incubation support program and who have received a favorable initial evaluation of their project plan will be requested to pitch and compete for an incubation slot before the Selection Committee. Proponents will be asked to discuss their innovative idea including revelatory advantages, and how they plan to commercialize it by means of a business plan or business model.

The presentation will be followed by a Question and Answer (Q&A) session for further validation on the execution of the project plan. After the presentation of the last proponent, the Selection Committee will tally the scores deliberate the merits of the results, and choose the proponents who will enter the Incubation Program. The top three (3) proponents will be notified by NEXUS of their admission to the Incubation Program.

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10. R

^ESEARCH

& D

^UE

D

^ILIGENCE

Throughout the application process, on an as-needed basis, NEXUS will perform research and due diligence of the team, the industry, and the current and future competitive elements facing the enterprise. NEXUS may require further information from the applicant and may ask the applicant to revise the business plan or business model.

11. I

^NCUBATION

F

ACILITIES AND

R

^ESOURCES

11.1 The infrastructure and support services of the NEXUS Innovations Labs are made available during the pre-incubation and incubation stages of the program towards helping develop and scale-up startup ideas and ventures.

11.1.1 The pre-incubation support system addresses the obstacles that academics often have concerning entrepreneurship: insufficient economic knowledge, unknown market potential of the developed products and services, high financial risks, and lack of capital, missing personal skills as well as unawareness of the value of their IP. The pre-incubation support system serves as a gateway for strengthening the business plan or business model before formally proceeding to the pitch competition of the selection stage.

11.1.2 During incubation, incubatees are supported through and integrated incubation infrastructures and a mix of business services. It is delicate phase in which the entrepreneur will undertake the activities needed to realize the business plan and cushion the success of the business venture.

12. I

NFRASTRUCTURE

Upon admission to the Incubation Program, NEXUS provides common and dedicated facilities which are available at the 3^rd Floor and 4^th Floor of NEXUS Innovations Labs. This comprises but is not limited to working spaces, internet, test and demonstration facilities, equipment, and training rooms. Specialized equipment may be accessed on campus to create prototypes or run specialized scientific protocols.

13. B

USINESS

S

ERVICES

These business services aim to support the development of solutions that will take incubatees significantly further down the road of their business ventures. The scope of the business services may include pre-incubation services, business idea / feasibility analysis, business model / strategy / plan development assistance, technology

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commercialization assistance, marketing assistance, IP protection and licensing assistance.

Business Accelerator

In addition to the Incubation Program, an Acceleration Program is also offered under NEXUS Innovations Labs. The business accelerator is a program that gives access to mentorship, investors and other supports that help startups become stable, self- sufficient businesses. The program will accept startups that already have a working prototype but need further guidance and peer support to gain strength. In addition to the mentorship and investment opportunities, access to logistical and technical resources including a shared office space will be provided.

The accelerator program can last anywhere from two to six months. The goal is for startups to emerge ready to run on their own, with strong positioning to claim a share of their target markets.

14. E

DUCATION AND

A

^{CCESS TO}

K

^NOWLEDGE

The platform for education and access to knowledge aims to address the obstacles that academics often have concerning entrepreneurship as listed in Section 11.1.1 above.

Furthermore, this will cover comprehensive business training programs, access to master classes in management and entrepreneurship, links to a higher education institution and its resources, group training, workshops, business topics seminars, presentations, regular matchmaking events, resource library and access to knowledge database.

15. F

INANCING AND

A

CCESS TO

F

INANCE

The financing and access to finance support system shall cover accounting and financial management services, fundraising and access to venture investors, business angels, seed investment capital, access to grants, and in-house funds.

The focus of providing access to financing is the proof-of-concept funding or prototype development. This type of funding aids the incubatee in demonstrating the innovation’s market viability to potential investors and partners. The activities under proof-of- concept includes:

15.1 building prototypes;

15.2 conducting commercial feasibility tests;

15.3 demonstrating the mitigation of risk; and,

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15.4 addressing issues identified by industry partners that improve the ability to license or attract capital from investors.

NEXUS shall provide funding and resources to the incubatee in the form of an ignition or innovation grant to provide basic support for research and development of solutions and sustainable innovations subject to the terms stipulated as per the Ignition / Innovation Grant Guidelines of NEXUS. Other terms and conditions with respect to revenue sharing (if any) will form part of the Grant Agreement.

16. M

ENTORING

The mentorship and advisory services allow the incubatees to reduce the gap in their knowledge or experience so that they can make better decisions and pursue the right business venture or partnership pathway.

Mentoring is also a venue to learn from experts who have taken their ideas from concept to venture. This can be reinforced through educational workshops, business clinics, and other learning events.

One of the objectives of the Mentoring Program is to give incubatees access to the technical expertise of the Advisory Board and field experts in a more dedicated manner.

Each incubatee team must invite one Faculty Adviser who shall act as a Team mentor to guide project development under the guidance of the Advisory Board, industry/field expert mentors and the Technology Transfer Office.

NEXUS plays a crucial role in mentor matching and has created a database of mentors and advisors, from which the Faculty Adviser can choose. Each incubated team may select one official mentor upon admission to the Incubation Program.

Furthermore, NEXUS Innovations Labs will also endeavor to partner and collaborate with experts and organizations that share the same mission of growing the innovation

ecosystem in the Philippines.

Mentorship Details

16.1. Schedule. Incubatees and mentors must meet every month, but it is up to the pair to determine the structure, format, and content of those meetings.

16.2. Nature of Work. NEXUS Innovations Labs must carefully select and monitor these mentors. The mentors provide advice and will be drawn from industry partners. A plan should be agreed on if possible and written up by the incubatee and the Mentor which should help to determine goals and a timeline and ensure that such objectives are being met. Mentoring can also lead to business opportunities and referrals for the incubatees

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as the Mentor can provide much needed introductions. A simple ‘mentoring guide’ will be written and updated, giving an outline of how a mentoring program could work.

16.3. Mentor Reports. Mentors are required to fill out a simple report after every meeting and to always meet with NEXUS representatives when they visit monthly to share the progress of the startup and identify constraints. Incubatees will also be required to assess the mentor and their progress after every meeting, although this report is not shared with the mentor.

16.4. Compensation. In case the incubatee opts for an industry mentor, the startup has to offer a minimum 1% of equity to the mentor as a consideration for mentorship.

17. T

^{ENURE OF}

I

^NCUBATION

The teams will be permitted to stay in the Incubation Program for a period of two years.

They may be granted a maximum of two extensions, each lasting 6 months, at the sole discretion of NEXUS.

An incubated team will leave the Incubation Program under the following circumstances:

17.1 Completion of two years stay (if no extension is granted).

17.2 Underperformance or non-viability of business proposition as decided by NEXUS on a case-to-case basis.

17.3 Irresolvable team members’ dispute as determined by NEXUS on a case-to-case basis.

17.4 Violation of De La Salle Lipa (DLSL) institutional policies.

17.5 When the incubated team enters into a commercialization agreement with external parties.

17.6 Change of plans of the incubatee without the concurrence of NEXUS or De La Salle Lipa.

17.7 Any change or discussions on equity ownership require the participation of NEXUS or De La Salle Lipa. If changes to the equity ownership was made without the participation of De La Salle Lipa, the incubate might be asked to leave the program.

17.8 Any other valid reason for which NEXUS may find it necessary for an incubated team to leave.

18. P

^ERIODIC

A

^SSESSMENT

A committee set up by NEXUS will evaluate the performance of the incubated team/s every 3 months or as necessary. The emphasis of the evaluation will be on checking if the milestones specified in the project plan are met. For a team which has taken an ignition or innovation grant (seed fund), additional checks will be done on the financial condition of the project in terms of its progress according to project plan, expenses, future

profitability, and utilization of initial funding for the specified purposes.

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The report of the committee will be presented by NEXUS to the Advisory Board on a regular basis.

19. C

ONFIDENTIAL

I

NFORMATION

Any individual covered by this Incubation Policy is expected to take all steps reasonably necessary to maintain confidentiality of any product development enrolled at Incubation and the Intellectual Property, including potentially exploitable IP. Students, Lasallian Partners, and other concerned stakeholders who come into contact with any confidential information have a duty:

19.1 to hold in strict confidence any confidential information;

19.2 not to publish or otherwise disclose in any way or permit the disclosure of any confidential information;

19.3 not to make unauthorized use of confidential information in any way other than is permitted in writing by DLSL;

19.4 not to reproduce or reveal to any party confidential information or any part of it in any manner or form or take notes of it other than expressly permitted by DLSL;

and,

19.5 to return to DLSL any and all confidential information in whatever form it is maintained if requested by DLSL.

20. N

^ON

-D

^ISCLOSURE

De La Salle Lipa adheres to strict confidentiality throughout the application process. DLSL shall sign non-disclosure agreements on a case-to-case basis or as needed.

21. C

ONFLICT OF

I

NTEREST

Students and Lasallian Partners, including consultants participating in the incubation program, are required to recognize and disclose activities that might give rise to conflicts of interest or the perception of conflicts and to ensure that such conflicts are seen to be properly managed or avoided.

Conflicts of interest may be financial or non-financial, or both. A financial conflict of interest, for the purposes of this Policy, is one where there is or appears to be

opportunity for personal financial gain, financial gain to close relatives or close friends, or where it might be reasonable for another party to take the view that financial benefits might affect that person’s actions

.

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Non-financial interests can also come into conflict, or be perceived to come into conflict, with a Lasallian Partner’s or student’s duties, obligations, and commitments to DLSL, for example the individual’s college or other body of which he or she is a trustee. Such non- financial interest may include any benefit or advantage, including, but not limited to, direct or indirect enhancement of an individual’s career, education or gain to immediate family (or a person with whom the person has a close relationship).

22. I

NTELLECTUAL

P

^ROPERTY

At the time of admission, incubatee shall accomplish the IP Declaration Form (IDF). The IDF is used to record innovations/inventions of those who will avail of the NEXUS

Innovations Labs funds, resources, and facilities for Its Incubation Program to satisfy their obligations on Intellectual Property rights. Intellectual Property hereby disclosed may include patentable or copyright materials, where there is an intent to commercialize. The incubatee is responsible to declare:

16.1 the collaborative work of any Lasallian Partners (who are not part of the team) that is being incorporated into the products.

16.2 any process or software that has or will be used or has been used in developing the technology or IP that will go into the product.

16.3 any agreement entered into prior to admission to incubation.

This section is governed by Rule 2.1 Declaration of IP and Rule 2.2 Ownership Rights of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Intellectual Property Policy.

23. E

^QUITY

S

^HARING

DLSL may accept Equity in Companies to support recently organized or incorporated businesses that arise from or have relationships to DLSL as a result of the NEXUS

Incubation Program. DLSL may take Equity which represents the fair or equivalent value as consideration for resources availed of by a company in a form of Stock or technology licensing-related arrangements.

The equity stake should not place DLSL in a controlling position. The Equity holdings shall be in the range of 3% to 5%. Feldgrau Incorporated is the authorized entity to take ownership of DLSL’s equity stock holdings in a company.

24. D

ISPUTE

R

ESOLUTION

A dispute arising from the interpretation or operation of this policy will be handled by NEXUS Innovations Labs in the first instance in consultation with the Incubation Program Review Committee.

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Individuals who wish to appeal decisions covered by this Policy shall have recourse to the Office of the President whose decision will be final.

25. R

EVISION

This Policy shall be reviewed by the President or his designate every two years. NEXUS Innovations Labs and the Incubation Program Review Committee will also review this policy periodically in consultation with stakeholders. Any revisions will subsequently be recommended to the President for approval.

Amendments may also be proposed where the President, or the President’s designate, gives the final approval. In any case, the amendments shall be in full force and effect on the date the amendments have been announced by DLSL.

26. W

AIVER OF THE

I

^NCUBATION

P

^OLICY

DLSL may grant a waiver of any provision of this policy on a case-to-case basis by taking into account the best interests of DLSL and the facts of the particular situation involved.

The President of DLSL shall have the sole discretion to waive or vary any or all provisions of the Incubation Policy.

27. E

FFECTIVITY AND

R

^EPEAL

This Incubation Policy will take effect immediately upon approval by the President on August 1, 2021. Policies inconsistent with this Incubation Policy are deemed repealed.

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APPROVAL HISTORY

Date

(YYYY-MM- DD)

Prepared by: Authorized by: Approved by:

(Secondary) Approved by:

2021- 08-01

Jay Michael Jaboneta Girlie L. Navarro

Br. Dante Jose Amisola FSC

Operations Council

Br. Dante Jose R.

Amisola FSC

Reviewed by: Br. Manuel Pajarillo FSC

Dr. Sheila Maloles Dr. Edgar Allan Poe Dr. Ivee Guce

Dr. Glennford Prospero Ms. Kristine Dimaculangan Ms. Dfezie Tipan

RELATED INFORMATION

Document Control

No. Document Title File Source

Intellectual Property Policy Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer Office IP Policy Implementing Rules and Regulations Intellectual Property and

Technology Transfer Office

INCUBATION POLICY

INCUBATION POLICY

De La Salle Lipa

NEXUS Innovations Labs

Table of Contents

INCUBATION POLICY De La Salle Lipa 1. I

2. P

S

3. D

T

4. S

5. A

I

6. E

C

7. A

8. S

9. P

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10. R

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11. I

F

R

12. I

13. B

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14. E

A

K

15. F

A

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16. M

17. T

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18. P

A

19. C

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20. N

-D

21. C

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22. I

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23. E

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24. D

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25. R

26. W

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27. E

R