Intellectual property and technology commercialisation will come under the spotlight at a colloquium that will be hosted by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic).
Wednesday’s colloquium will be held under the theme: “Driving Innovation and Positioning Intellectual Property Commercialisation for a Better and Inclusive South Africa”.
According to the Minister of the dtic, Parks Tau, the session will provide a platform to exchange ideas and experiences on addressing challenges hindering successful technology commercialisation, and what measures can be taken to address these challenges.
He said the session, which the dtic will host in partnership with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC), will focus on enhancing awareness and understanding of intellectual property (IP), technology management, and the commercialisation process.
Discussions will cover the advancement of new technologies and their impact on the IP landscape and the commercialisation of these innovations.
The session will also explore strategies for innovating, scaling, and commercialising more effectively during and after a pandemic.
“The National System of Innovation stakeholders will exchange ideas and share experiences on overcoming challenges in intellectual property and technology commercialisation. The key focus areas include addressing barriers to successful commercialisation, improving access to venture capital funding, enhancing knowledge of equity structures, and creating effective market channels,” the Minister said.
The session will bring together international and local expert speakers in the field of IP and technology commercialisation, including commercialisation specialists, IP Merchant Banks, venture capitalists, incubators and fund finders, among others.
Significantly, the session will also see high school and tertiary students participating in order to instil an interest in IP.
“The learners will participate in an interactive session,, where they will be taken through the exciting journey of IP and technology development.
“This session will stimulate and harness a culture of innovation and creativity amongst South African school learners, build a future generation that will be ready and attuned to the skills needs of the 4IR [Fourth Industrial Revolution] and be a generation of job creators rather than job seekers,” Tau said.
Some of the topics that will be discussed include technology development and commercialisation, intellectual property in successful commercialisation of products and services, and understanding IP rights and their role in technology transfer and economic growth.
The colloquium will have exhibition stands for innovators to display their products and services.
The exhibition will be used to showcase support offered by government to innovators through different funding instruments.
The colloquium will get underway at the Heartfelt Arena in Pretoria from 9am. – SAnews.gov.za
