Raising Awareness of Intellectual Property (IP) Management

The Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), recently established a Tech Transfer Office under its Directorate of Research, Innovation and Partnerships (DRIP), with the mandate to facilitate academic research and commercial applications. For this reason, the University is strategically raising awareness about the commercialisation of research amongst staff, students, industry partners, and the general public. 

In July this year, NUST invited Dr Nirvashnee Seetal, a Technology Transfer guru from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to Namibia. She delivered a thought-provoking public lecture of note on campus, about the ins and outs of Intellectual Property (IP)management. In her presentation, she made an analogy of how managing IP is like playing Chess - you need to think strategically, exercise caution and patience, make bold calculated moves, whilst keeping your eye on the ‘king prize’. 

Beyond engaging researchers on campus, her visit also included meeting key Namibian industry representatives with interests in the IP space.

Similarly in June, NUST held an IP panel discussion in partnership with the Business and Intellectual Property Authority (BIPA). The keynote speaker was Mr Luan Africa, from the University of the Western Cape’s Technology Transfer Office. The respondents were representative of academia, industry and government. Furthermore, a networking dinner was held where Dr Anna Matros-Goreses, the Executive Director DRIP, gave a presentation on the power of networks. She placed emphasis on the “3i’s”, namely ideas, investment and impact. She highlighted that IP should have local impact with global recognition. 

“Being part of a network such as SARIMA amongst others, helps to leverage from each others’ experts, making collaboration in the area of research and innovation extremely critical,” she added.