The Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka on Thursday took a major step towards promoting innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as addressing the menace of stealing of intellectual property in the institution, with the formal public presentation of the Intellectual Property Policy, IPP document.
The Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof Charles Esimone, who unveiled the document, also at the ceremony, inaugurated the Bureau of Intellectual Property of the University.
The event put together by the Technology Incubation Centre, TIC of the University, took place at the Chisco Transport Institute in the University, attracted major stakeholders within the university community, business leaders and captains of industries, as well as other notable personalities.
Speaking at the event, the State Commissioner for Industry, Christian Udechukwu, who represented Governor Chukwuma Soludo, said the present administration values strategic collaboration with the academia to improve governance processes, promotion of innovation and creativity for accelerated economic transformation in Anambra State.
According to the Commissioner, “Governor Soludo is passionate about partnership especially in the area of innovation and creativity, and because of the status of the University as a repository of knowledge, the government will work closely with it.
“This programme is very significant not just for anambra or the university but for the world.
“Intellectual property is the unique and exclusive thought of an individual at any given time.
“As a government, we look to the academia for solution and you know that the Chukwuma Soludo administration is a solution government.
“We don’t spend time listening to the problems of the state but we are focused on solving.
“This is a government that is keen on accelerating economic growth and people who are creative enough to generate solutions, should have the benefits of their intellectual exercise to themselves.
“The University is endowed with abundant human resources and there is not limit to the work and ideas that can be generated from this place
“For the university to count itself relevant, it should have contributed to open knowledge and innovations in the state,” he said.
Speaking while unveiling the IPP document, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof Charles Esimone said the event is a day of public acknowledgement that the University has arrived.
According to him, the public presentation is a landmark achievement as it is coming 15 years after the Institute was established in 2008.
”I want to say that this is a great accomplishment for the University and I want to commend the Director of the Centre, Prof Austen Azubogu for the push to get the policy presented publicly.
“This is just the beginning of better things to come. We have three patents now and part of what we are doing is to create awareness that Intellectual property is the way to go.
“We are doing a lot of researches but with the policy, we will begin to protect the work people are doing. A lot of patentable products are on and very soon, we will have their patents done.
“We intend to go beyond just having the patent certificates but to get these patents to get to the industries for proper application.
“We will scale the accomplishments so far to see that the bright ideas we have incubated in this citadel of learning, are exported to the larger society.
“Innovations will be coming out of our TIC, the Director has shared some of these with me. The University is on top and we want to continue to show the light,” Esimone said.
Earlier, the Director-General, National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion, NOTAP, Dr Muhammad Ibrahim represented by a director in the office, Dr. Caroline Ani-Osuagwu, harped on the need for Universities to begin to commercialize the patent certificates their member garner.
According to him, intellectual property includes ideas, information and knowledge, which may not be tangible and acknowledged that the launch will guide the University on the issues of research.
He said the NOTAP is poised to support the University ensure that members of the community derive the right benefits for their intellectual property, in line with its mandate.
“It is expected that the IPP launched today will facilitate proliferation of ideas in the University that will yield solutions to the numerous societal challenges.
“The University so far, has 3 patents and it is our hope that more will come,” he enthused.
For his part, the Director of the Technology Incubation Centre Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer Office of the University, Prof Austen Azubogu said the focus of the IPP and the processes at the TIC is to transform the University from just an academic institute to an entrepreneurship hub, to give vent to innovation and creativity.
According to him, part of what the IPP will do, is to streamline what members of the community gets for intellectual property, as a means of encouraging ideas and innovation.
He also spoke of the vision of the Centre, to create a Technology Incubation Park, which the policy will help streamline its operations when it fully comes on stream.
He said; “We want to turn UNIZIK from teaching or research institution to an entrepreneurial and innovative institution. We want to make our students to be entrepreneurs.
“This intellectual property need to be incubated in our labs and workshops before being transferred out. We currently have plastic incubation center where we use 50% local raw materials.
“But we’re canvassing for real and functional technology incubation park where we’ll have state of arts facilities, mentorship, legal advice to our students into research and innovation and commence the production here.
“In this engineering faculty, we’re about to start producing retrofit kit for electric keke. We’re studying the viability before we launch out.
“My vision is, in the next five years, UNIZIK will be incubating hundred students with hundred start up industries from this institution.
“My projection is before I leave in 8 years time, we’ll be having $100milion capital of startup.”
The event climaxed with the official unveiling of the IPP document by the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof Esimone.
