AIPO touched down on their 2025 Intersession Internship Program

The Ateneo Intellectual Property Office’s Intersession Internship Program (AIIP), headed by internship supervisor, Ms Paulanne Mari Alconcel, concluded on July 18, 2025 after seven weeks of guided work with 39 students from BS Management Information Systems, BS Management (Honors), AB Management Economics, AB Communication, AB Development Studies, AB Interdisciplinary Studies, AB Diplomacy and International Relations, AB Literature, and BFA Information Design. The program aimed to equip students with knowledge on startups and social entrepreneurship, offering a behind-the-scenes look at business management. Interns also worked closely with business owners, supporting operations, marketing, and other key tasks.

From June 2 to June 20, students joined brainstorming sessions and workshops on effective communication and collaboration with startups. Through programs, presentations, and seminars, AIPO prepared them for tasks in the startup and entrepreneurship industry, giving them the skills to contribute to their host businesses.

The internship opened on June 2 with an introduction to the program and AIPO’s mandate. AIPO’s Resident Entrepreneur, Mr George Quitoriano, also conducted a brief activity on idea generation and startup entrepreneurship.

Photo: Introduction to AIPO by Mr Bryan Erfe

Photo: Activity on Idea Generation & Startup Entrepreneurship

The rest of the first week focused on Intellectual Property (IP) Protection Awareness. Under the guidance of Ms Vanessa Malapit, Ms Madielaine Fatallo, and Ms Charity Bersalona from AIPO’s IP Protection and Education Group (PEG), interns analyzed and critiqued IP cases while engaging with their co-interns. They also made promotional materials on different IP types.

Photos: PEG Week Activities

Photos: PEG Week Presentations

The second week began with a design thinking workshop by AIPO’s Ideation Support Group (ISG), led by Mr Steve Chaves and Ms Mariela Alcaparas. Mr Chaves introduced the design thinking process—from empathizing and defining to iterating, building, and testing prototypes. Ms Alcaparas emphasized the role of empathy in innovation, noting that solutions are easier to create when the problem and user perspectives are fully understood.

Photos: Introduction to Design Thinking

Interns were grouped into 11 teams, each assigned to an Ateneo Blue Nest incubated startup to apply their interviewing and questioning skills from the workshop. Beyond theory, they conducted user interviews to gather insights. Guided by Mr Lorenzo Tiongson and Ms Wilma Alamar from AIPO’s Commercialization and Business Incubation Group (CBIG), the interns deepened their understanding of their assigned startups. By June 11, interns presented user personas from their interviews, followed by prototyping fieldwork on June 13.

Photos: Continuation of Design Thinking Workshop

The third week featured a marketing sprint and search engine optimization workshop by Ms Daniella Guerrero, AIPO X Project Officer, and a session on business plan preparation by Engr Benjamin Mirasol, Head of CBIG. The week concluded with interns reconnecting with their startups to develop and present business plans for feedback. The interns then immersed themselves in the startup or social enterprise environment from June 23 to July 11, applying their freshly honed skills to enterprise development.

Photo: Workshop by Ms Guerrero

Photo: Mr Mirasol’s Talk About Business Plans

Photos: CBIG Week Presentations

Their journey culminated in final presentations and exit interviews from July 14 to 18. Sharing stories of determination and growth, interns showcased how their experiences shaped them. They also proposed programs and projects on how to develop innovation in the Ateneo community.

Photo: AIIP Interns, Batch 2 with their Internship Supervisor & PEG Mentors

The 2025 AIPO Intersession Internship Program offered invaluable opportunities for learning and personal growth. It nurtured passion, commitment, and resilience, preparing students for real-world challenges. AIPO thanks all speakers, mentors, and facilitators whose expertise and encouragement ensured the program’s success. Through initiatives like AIIP, AIPO continues to support students, startup founders, and business owners in turning ideas into reality.

__________________________________________________________________________________

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