BAYBAY CITY — Visayas State University has been named the recipient of the 2025 Tanglaw Award for Most Outstanding Research Institution, the country’s highest institutional recognition for excellence in research, development, and innovation.

The award, given every two years by the Department of Science and Technology–Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development, marks the fourth time VSU has received the distinction since the Tanglaw Award was established in 1977.

Along with the trophy, VSU received a P5-million grant to support the upgrading of its research, development, extension, and innovation (RDEI) infrastructure and capability-building initiatives.

VSU President Prose Ivy Yepes said the university topped other institutions after garnering high scores in technologies developed and utilized, information generated and applied, financial resources mobilized over the past five years, and capability-building efforts.

She added that VSU also posted strong performance in institutional publications, awards received, partnerships forged, and projects implemented.

VSU previously received the top distinction in 1977, 2013, and 2019.

“VSU is a community of scholars, innovators, and visionaries bound by a shared belief that research must create real and tangible impact,” Yepes said.

Between 2020 and 2024, Yepes said VSU emerged as a hub for technology development and intellectual property generation.

She noted that university researchers commercialized 70 technologies and filed 112 research outputs for intellectual property protection, with 71 intellectual property rights granted.

According to Yepes, these initiatives produced tangible community impact, benefiting 26 local enterprises and incubators. Five adopters — Five Shepherds, Fatima Multipurpose Cooperative, and Binaybayon Enterprises — successfully ventured into VSU-developed technologies, collectively generating P19.2 million in income.

She added that VSU forged 65 international and 105 national partnerships, which generated more than P770 million in funding for RDEI initiatives and P300 million in infrastructure investments. These included new facilities such as the Livestock and Poultry Research Center, Biodiversity Research Center, and Biotechnology Research Center.