(as lifted from www.bgn.org)
December 1, 2005 (Alabang, Philippines) -- More than 200 of the most important players from the Philippine ICT Industry gathered this afternoon for Techie Palooza v.05 to launch the ARCDI Incubation Laboratory and the Brain Gain Network website (http://www.BGN.org).
Senator Ramon Magsaysay Jr. and Gil Genio, CEO of Innove Communications, joined Narra Venture Capital Managing Partner Dr. Paco Sandejas to introduce the lab and BGN website to probably the largest single joint-gathering of professional engineers and researchers, venture capitalists and business leaders from leading Philippine ICT organizations.
The Brain Gain Network Website is an online networking and productivity tool that features the largest database of Filipino technical experts residing and working around the world, including other Filipinos and non-Filipinos who share the common goal of the BGN, according to Sandejas. The long-term vision of the BGN is to enable the success of globally respected technology companies based around products that are mostly (if not fully) developed in the Philippines.
Sandejas demonstrated how BGN's online tools enable individuals and organizations to conduct business development activity with greater efficiency, tapping remote contributors from other continents. He said that members of the BGN are part of a dynamic community that includes such ICT luminaries as Dado Banatao, Dr. Joe Cruz (former Dean of Engineering, Ohio State University), Dr. Marc Loinaz (co-Founder, BGN and Aeluros, a Silicon Valley Start-up), and Dr. Luis Sarmenta (Research Scientist , MIT CSAIL Labs).
Members will also benefit from the assistance of BGN mentors such as Lawrence Hughes (co-Founder, CipherTrust) and Peter Valdes (co-Founder, Tivoli), successful US technopreneurs in their own right who work in the Philippines today.
Senator Ramon Magsaysay lent the support of government to this initiative, which he called noble and practical. He promised to engage with ICT practitioners through the website and listen to suggestions for national policies related to ICT.
One of the first concrete projects championed by many members of the BGN is the ARCDI Incubation Lab, also launched this evening. The Lab is a technology RD&E (research, development and engineering) incubation lab co-managed by Narra Venture Capital and ARCDI (Advanced Research and Competency Development Institute) in partnership with researchers and corporate partners such as Innove, IBM, and the Banatao Foundation. The purpose is to bring academic and other research institutes closer to industry in an open, non-captive and highly collaborative environment.
Innove's Genio encouraged the mostly "techie" crowd to exploit the subsidized ARCDI Incubation Lab and invent lower-cost solutions for the computing and communication system needs of public schools and SMEs in the Philippines. Cesar Quiason, ARCDI Executive Director, toured participants through the new facility.
The event was hosted by Christine Jacob and entertainment was provided by Mocha and Spin Art. The Major Sponsor of the launch was Narra Venture Capital, a venture capital and fund management company, while Innove and Stratpoint Technolgies were Silver Sponsors and San Miguel Pale Pilsen and Filinvest/Northgate Cyberzone were Minor Sponsors. The event was organized by All Media Asia.
The BGN was first developed by Sandejas and Loinaz in 1992 when they were Electrical Engineering Ph.D. candidates and researchers at Stanford University. | 
