مجلس التعليم »

22-10-2018

Oman News Agency

Muscat- The opening ceremony of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)-Oman Summer School in Intellectual Property & Knowledge Transfer was held at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) today under the patronage of Dr. Hilal bin Ali al-Hinai, Secretary General of The Research Council (TRC)

The Summer School Training progam is organized by SQU in cooperation with WIPO Academy. As many as 34 participants consisting of academics, jurists, inventors, students and entrepreneurs from the Sultanate, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Sudan, India and Pakistan are attending the program that runs for two weeks.

Dr. Rahma bint Ibrahim al-Mahrooqi, SQU Deputy Vice Chancellor for Postgraduate Studies & Research in her welcoming remarks, said that the Summer School program is the result of continuous and systematic cooperation between SQU, WIPO, the Ministry of Commerce & Industry and the TRC. “It is one of the initiatives to support the Sultanate's strategy to diversify its economy into a knowledge-based economy and to make it more sustainable and competitive. The activities of the Summer School program include lectures, simulation exercises, group discussions, panel discussions and case studies on intellectual property rights and technology transfer”, she noted.

Dr. Al Mahrooqi said that SQU represented by the Center for Innovation and Technology Transfer, will continue the efforts to strengthen its ties with WIPO Academy by introducing academic programs covering all areas of innovation, intellectual property rights and its applications in the legal and administrative spheres. This, she said, would strengthen SQU’s position as a center of expertise and a knowledge incubator in promoting the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the Sultanate.

Dr. Sherif Saadallah, Executive Director, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Academy, in his address said that every year the WIPO academy collaborates with IP offices and some of the top universities around the world to offer WIPO Summer School programs. “These programs are designed to demonstrate the essential role that IP plays in promoting innovation and creativity. The focus is in particular on the correlation between IP and numerous public areas, such as IP and public health, food security and climate change, to mention a few. The Summer Schools are targeting young professionals working in both the private and public sectors, in the legal profession and to undergraduates and postgraduates seeking to deepen their knowledge of IP”, he said.

Dr. Saadallah lauded the efforts of the Government of the Sultanate of Oman and its forward-looking approach to IP education and training, in particular in the context of the National Innovation Strategy. Later on, he gave lecture on WIPO Academy and its main areas of activity.