Head of UN Intellectual Property body applauds Wits’ innovation ecosystem
- Wits Innovation Centre
Wits University is set to grow its performance and academic offerings in innovation, according to a key international player in the field.
Daren Tang, the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), recently met with Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, Wits Vice-Chancellor and Principal, and various stakeholders from across its innovation ecosystem.
Together, they exchanged poignant views and strong hopes for innovation at the University and across the country and continent. In particular, they discussed opportunities for closer cooperation and collaboration between Wits and WIPO.
The Director of the Wits Innovation Centre (WIC), Letlotlo Phohole, identified two priorities for strengthening innovation at the University.
The first is to further improve Wits’ innovation performance by scaling innovation across all faculties and using commercialisation vehicles that extend beyond individual flagship units.
The second is to build on Wits’ existing academic offerings, including the Postgraduate Diploma in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Discussions also explored the possibility of introducing a Master’s degree in intellectual property, innovation and entrepreneurship in partnership with the WIPO Academy.
Phohole said that these two aspects would be the key to advancing innovation at Wits. “We need to do the right things, on the academic offerings side, but we also need to do things right, in terms of applying the lessons learnt,” he said to an approving audience. ”The two have to work together, otherwise, we will have a challenge.”
“I think this is a great plan,” Tang said. It builds on the WIPO Academy’s success and experience in rolling out similar programs around the world. “I would like to say that the first cohort should be not just for South Africans, but for Africans and maybe beyond Africa.”
Tang shared that WIPO’s data is showing a tremendous rise over the last two decades in intellectual property (IP). Notably, countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America are leading the charge, with around 70% of IP filings coming from these regions. He noted that attitudes towards IP among laypersons are also particularly positive in the developing world.
“We're living in a world where innovation and creativity are no longer just part of the mature economies,” Tang explained. “It's increasingly part of the journey of emerging economies, and I think that's fantastic.”
Professor Lynn Morris, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research and Innovation at Wits, echoed that she is seeing encouragingly, increased interest in innovation at the institution, such as through increased IP registrations and spin-off company creation. “As a university, we have invested a lot in building up the innovation ecosystem,” she said proudly, thanking the whole innovation team.
Morris puts this strength down to, in part, the strong legacy of research that innovations can stem from. “You need a strong research base to have a strong innovation ecosystem, and we have a long and proud legacy of that at Wits,” she confirms.
Vilakazi applauded the cooperation between Wits and WIPO, and called it timely. “It comes at a very important moment for the university,” he said. “We focus largely on research and teaching as our foundation in a traditional university and we need to now deepen our connection between knowledge, innovation, and impact.”
He encouraged researchers and all in the Wits ecosystem to think beyond discovery and publishing of ideas, and consider innovation and commercialisation early on in the process. “We need to connect pathways from research to innovation,” he said.
Vilakazi echoed Tang’s hopes that the cooperation between Wits and WIPO could create benefits far beyond the university community.
“We are just a seed that hopefully should connect with others in a Pan-African way,” he said. “Our continent has enormous intellectual and creative capacity, excellent researchers, entrepreneurs and institutions.”