AIPO Holds 2025 Xperience Manila Program

The Ateneo Intellectual Property Office (AIPO) hosted seven student interns from this year’s AIPO Intersession Internship Program (AIIP). Tied to this was a pilot program called Xperience Manila. This program, headed and developed by Ms. Paulanne Mari Alconcel, Project Officer for AIPO X, aimed to promote culturally rich encounters that inspire students to actively participate in interdisciplinary innovation through engagements between industry and academe.

For three weeks, the students were able to immerse themselves in the work environments of one of AIPO’s partner social enterprises: CCAP Likhang Atin, Happy Helpers, Purple Market, ROOTS Collective PH, and the Miriam College–Technology Business Incubation (TBI) Center. In this experiential learning, they assisted in meaningful projects of their assigned social enterprise.

The students also took part in several excursion trips. On June 27, they visited the Gawad Kalinga Community in Dasmariñas, Cavite. The whole-day activity began with a tour of the community while they engaged with its members. Planting and wall painting activities followed.

Photo: Students Touring GK Community Cavite

Photos: Planting Activity

Photos: Wall Painting Activity

Next, on July 4th, the interns joined a coastal cleanup at the Las Piñas-Parañaque Wetland Park (LPPWP) – home to 30 hectares of mangroves and a migratory path for many migrant birds. The excursion trip, facilitated by Make-a-Difference (MAD) Travel, involved an orientation, coastal cleanup, and tour of the LPPWP museum.

Photo: LPPWP Orientation

Photos: LPPWP Coastal Cleanup

Photos: LPPWP Coastal Cleanup

Photos: LPPWP Coastal Cleanup

Photo: Cleaning of Plastic Bottles

Photo: Visit to LPPWP Museum

Photo: Group Photo at LPPWP

Finally, the Xperience Manila program concluded on July 11 with a culminating activity spearheaded by Ms. Alconcel. The students reflected on their three-week journey and presented their learnings and key takeaways from the program. 

For most of the students, the immersion exposed them to an environment outside of the usual corporate setup. Some were able to strengthen their desire to work with social enterprises after graduation, while others were able to converse and empathize more deeply with the relevant communities, learning more about their way of living. This will hopefully push them and more students in the future to consider being involved in the expanding culture of social entrepreneurship in the country.

Photos: Student Presentations on Final Day

Photos: Reflecting on Xperience Manila

Photo: Student Intern Participants of 2025 Xperience Manila

with their Supervisor, Ms. Alconcel

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Interested in joining our internship or startup programs? Contact us: aipo@ateneo.edu. Or visit: https://aipo.ateneo.edu