Innovation Through Collaboration: How Teams Drive Change
- Daniel Aucho B. Padrigo
- Jul 17
- 5 min read
Innovation rarely happens in isolation. Today, it flourishes through collaboration when individuals, teams, and institutions come together to build on each other’s ideas and create a meaningful impact. Rather than relying on a single person, modern innovation occurs when diverse perspectives come together to solve real-world problems. Multidisciplinary teams that include engineers, designers, researchers, and strategists are now the standard in many innovation-driven organizations. These teams bring different insights, challenge assumptions, and accelerate the journey from idea to impact.
Innovation ecosystems succeed when they bring together diverse actors from academia, industry, and government. This is also true when they provide the right tools, networks, and support to turn ideas into action (Kramer, 2024). Even in startup spaces, research shows that successful ventures are rarely the product of solo efforts. Most are built and driven by founding teams, particularly in knowledge-intensive and innovation-focused fields. Startup teams have become the norm, as they enable better problem-solving, faster execution, and more balanced risk management (Brattström, 2019).
However, collaboration alone isn’t enough; teams also need structure. One of the most powerful innovation frameworks today is design thinking. This repeatable and human-centered method involves empathizing with users, defining problems clearly, ideating possible solutions, prototyping, and testing them. This process fosters continuous feedback and adjustment, ensuring that innovations meet real user needs. Design thinking transforms creativity into something actionable and scalable, and is especially useful in multidisciplinary team environments (Bender-Salazar, 2023).
Furthermore, teams need guidance, resources, and the right environment to succeed. Innovation also needs mentorship, institutional backing, incubators, and accelerators. They provide the guidance, infrastructure, and support that young innovators need to transform raw ideas into market-ready products. These platforms offer access to funding opportunities, business advice, IP frameworks, and crucial industry connections. Universities, in particular, are in a unique position to serve as innovation hubs that bring together student talent, research expertise, and external partnerships. By offering incubation services and intellectual property (IP) support, they help early-stage ideas gain real traction (European Commission, n.d.).
AIPO as a Key Supporter for Innovation
The Ateneo Intellectual Property Office (AIPO) is one of the key supporters of the innovation ecosystem within the university. Through its programs, AIPO has shown how design thinking, collaboration, and institutional support work together to drive meaningful innovation. For instance, in October 2024, AIPO partnered with Finden Technologies for a three-day design thinking workshop. The event took teams through the entire innovation process, from empathy mapping to rapid prototyping and testing. This hands-on experience helped participants understand real user challenges and practice rapid iteration. The workshop’s success demonstrated how structured teamwork enables creative yet practical problem-solving (Ateneo Intellectual Property Office, 2024).
Meanwhile, the Web3 Bootcamp and Hackathon, held on April 27–29, 2023, demonstrated how high-pressure, time-boxed team environments can yield bold and competitive innovations. Organized by AIPO alongside Ark of Dreams and Innoventures, the event gathered participants who took an interest in blockchain technology, and they went on to ideate, develop, and pitch working Web3 prototypes. Team Da Vinci, one of the standout groups, collaborated on a P-pop-themed NFT platform, combining technical development with cultural relevance. Their win earned them not just a Php 100,000 prize but also a coveted spot in AIPO’s Blue Nest Incubator, where they received continued guidance to refine and possibly commercialize their concept. The hackathon format itself was rooted in collaboration, wherein team members needed to balance front-end and back-end development, manage idea scoping, and effectively pitch their solution, all in a short time (Alcaparas, 2023).
AIPO, in partnership with the Ateneo Business Resource Center, launched a long-term initiative called the Blueprint Project. This project introduced a sustainable design framework that combines empathy for users with a deep awareness of environmental impact. Inspired by human-centered design principles, it encourages teams to consider how their solutions affect both people and the planet. True to Ateneo’s mission of forming people for and with others, the Blueprint Project also promotes collaboration across different sectors of the university, making innovation a shared and inclusive effort. One notable initiative under this framework was the OTIPE program, an eight-week collaboration with Singapore Polytechnic. Student teams worked across countries and disciplines to co-design sustainable innovations. This sustained engagement not only highlighted the value of international collaboration but also demonstrated how structured innovation programs help students develop leadership, adaptability, and technical skills (J. Tan & Ulili, 2025).
Behind all these projects lies a network of strategic partnerships. In March 2023, AIPO signed a memorandum of agreement with Leave a Nest Philippines to co-host innovation programs like Tech Planter. These initiatives aim to bring researchers and industry players together to commercialize technology (Erfe, 2023). Meanwhile, the longstanding partnership between Ateneo and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) continues to support student innovators. Since 2019, this alliance has helped projects such as Pili Seal, Greentech EcoBooster, and Exora move from idea to patent application, showing the power of partnership in scaling innovations (Erfe, 2022). Taking a look at AIPO’s Blue Nest Incubator, they not only offer a physical space for innovation but they also provide access to legal, IP, and commercialization support, which are resources that student innovators often lack on their own (Ateneo Blue Nest, n.d.).
Innovation is a collaborative, structured, and supported process. As shown by AIPO’s many initiatives, the best ideas don’t come from isolation. They are born in diverse teams, refined through tested methodologies like design thinking, and sustained through mentorship and institutional backing. From hackathons and workshops to incubators and international collaborations, Ateneo provides a strong foundation for innovation to flourish.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this student article are those of the author/s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Ateneo de Manila University
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Experience Design Thinking in Action at Halo-Halo Bites 2025
If you’re inspired to dive deeper into design thinking and explore how it intersects with innovation, entrepreneurship, and social impact, then don’t miss Halo-Halo Bites 2025: Co-Creating the Innovations of the Future.
Organized by the Ateneo Intellectual Property Office (AIPO), Halo-Halo Bites is a one-day conference happening on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, at Ateneo de Manila University. Much like the Filipino dessert halo-halo—a colorful mix of different ingredients that blend into something delightful—this event celebrates the synergy of government, universities, and enterprises in shaping a humanity-centered future through design, innovation, and collaboration.
Join us! Register at: https://www.aipo.ateneo.edu/hhbites2025.
Learn more about AIPO’s design thinking events: www.aipo.ateneo.edu/designthinking
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References
Alcaparas, M. (2023, May 26). WeB3 Bootcamp and Hackathon 2023: Empowering Innovators in Blockchain Development. AIPO. https://www.aipo.ateneo.edu/post/web3-bootcamp-and-hackathon-2023-empowering-innovators-in-blockchain-development
Ateneo Blue Nest. (n.d.). AIPO. https://www.aipo.ateneo.edu/bluenest
Ateneo Intellectual Property Office. (2024, December 5). AIPO and Finden Technologies Empower Teams through Design Thinking. https://www.aipo.ateneo.edu/post/aipo-and-finden-technologies-empower-teams-through-design-thinking
Brattström, A. (2019). Working with Startups? These are the Three Things You Ought to Know about Startup Teams. Technology Innovation Management Review, 9(11), 5–14. https://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/1279
Bender-Salazar, R. (2023). Design thinking as an effective method for problem-setting and needfinding for entrepreneurial teams addressing wicked problems. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13731-023-00291-2
Erfe, B. (2022, August 2). Ateneo de Manila University and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Renew Partnership. AIPO. https://www.aipo.ateneo.edu/post/ateneo-de-manila-university-and-the-philippine-chamber-of-commerce-and-industry-renew-partnership
Erfe, B. (2023, April 5). Ateneo and Leave a Nest Philippines forge strategic partnership to empower innovation. AIPO. https://www.aipo.ateneo.edu/post/ateneo-and-leave-a-nest-philippines-forge-strategic-partnership-to-empower-innovation
European Commission. (n.d.). The role of Incubators and Accelerators in knowledge valorisation. https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/research-area/industrial-research-and-innovation/eu-valorisation-policy/knowledge-valorisation-platform/thematic-focus/role-incubators-and-accelerators-knowledge-valorisation_en#:~:text=Incubators%20and%20accelerators%20provide%20support,time%20founders
Kramer, M. (2024, November 5). Adopting an innovation ecosystem - all things innovation. All Things Innovation. https://allthingsinnovation.com/content/adopting-an-innovation-ecosystem/#:~:text=The%20International%20Development%20Innovation%20Alliance,%E2%80%9D
Tan, J., & Ulili, A. (2025, January 30). Ateneo Business Resource Center advances sustainable design thinking through “Blueprint Project.” The GUIDON. https://theguidon.com/2025/01/ateneo-business-resource-center-advances-sustainable-design-thinking-through-blueprint-project/