by ttoadmin | Apr 28, 2020 | Uncategorized
Every year, on the 26 April, the world celebrates World Intellectual Property (IP) Day as a way to recognise the innovation and creativity that shapes our society. This year, World IP Day is celebrating innovations, and associated intellectual property rights, leading to a green future. We all live together on this earth and need to take care of it, and the University of the Western Cape (UWC) is playing its part to ensure a greener future for all. Apart from being declared Africa’s greenest campus in 2014, UWC is a role player in the development of green innovations, from hydrogen fuel cell technologies to hosting the multidisciplinary Centre of Excellence for Food Security. Here are some of the innovative technologies being developed at UWC: 1) Natural plant based biofertilizer and biopesticide – developed from a South African indigenous plant extract, this organic biofertilizer and biopesticide improves the health and growth of crops while minimising the use of chemical synthetic product.s 2) Hydrogen fuel cell Technologies - UWC hosts the HySA Systems Centre of Competence, part of South Africa’s Hydrogen South Africa Programme (HySA). HySA Systems is involved in the development of hydrogen fuel cell systems for vehicles as well as power modules, as a renewable fuel source alternative 3) Green batteries - Alternative renewable energy sources are part of the solution, however this needs to be coupled with improved energy storage solutions. UWC hosts the Energy Storage Innovation Lab (ESIL) involved in the development of improved Li ion battery technologies. 4) Treatment of Acid Mine Drainage – a method for the treatment of polluted mine water utilising fly ash,...
by ttoadmin | Apr 24, 2020 | Uncategorized
The TTO is excited to announce a new recruit to the office, Mr Luan Africa, who joined us on the 1st April 2020 as a Technology Transfer Specialist: Commercialization. Luan is a goal orientated, driven individual with broad exposure to different areas of life science. He is a strong proponent of multi-disciplinary initiatives, and believes that collaboration between disciplines is the key to the success of any endeavour. He has built up a broad knowledge base which he continually strives to grow, and through his postgraduate training has acquired skills in molecular virology, biochemistry and physiology. Prior to joining the UWC TTO, he was part of the technology transfer team at Stellenbosch University. He is passionate about all things science, technology and innovation, and believes in adding additional value to the traditional academic process through technology transfer. We welcome Luan to the TTO and are excited to work with him to drive technologies to meet societal...
by ttoadmin | Apr 24, 2020 | Uncategorized
Read more about how University of the Western Cape (UWC) nanochemist Prof Leslie Petrik is working to minimise the environmental challenges face with mining waste using another waste product, coal fly ash...
by ttoadmin | Apr 24, 2020 | Uncategorized
The Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Dr Blade Nzimande visits the Mankosi community in rural Eastern Cape on the 5th March 2020 to see how Zenzeleni’s unique business model is making a difference to provide affordable communication. Read more here:...
by ttoadmin | Apr 24, 2020 | Uncategorized
“In times like these, access to information is more critical than ever”- Sol Luca de Tena For this reason, South Africa’s first community-owned Internet Service Provider, Zenzeleni Networks has responded to the Covid-19 Lockdown by providing zero-rated access to dozens of essential health and education sites, including all university and TVET college sites. Read more here: https://www.northernnews.co.za/news/free-data-to-help-students-46643743 Researchers from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) and UWC’s South African National Bioinformatics Institute (SANBI) have sequenced the first SARS-COV-2 genome in South Africa, providing a genetic “fingerprint” that can help us understand - and contain - the spread of COVID-19. Read more here: https://www.uwc.ac.za/News/Pages/Decoding-Covid-19-SANBI-Scientists-Peek-Inside-First-South-African-SARS-CoV-2-Genome.aspx...
by ttoadmin | Mar 12, 2020 | Uncategorized
“An affordable and accessible mobile app suite to facilitate information and communication services, SignSupport was designed for - and with - Deaf people.” Read more about this amazing technology that facilitates communication between the Deaf and Hearing by clicking the link below...
by ttoadmin | Dec 19, 2019 | Uncategorized
The University of the Western Cape took part at the Innovation Bridge (IB) Technology Matchmaking and Showcasing event, aimed at encouraging and accelerating the utilisation and commercialisation of intellectual property and technologies developed by public universities and science councils. The event, jointly took place with Science Forum South Africa (SFSA), under the theme: Igniting Conversations about Science for Innovation with Impact at the CSIR International Convention Centre on the 4th to 6th December 2019. The TTO exhibited the following technologies: SIGNSUPPORT: an affordable and accessible mobile apps to facilitate information and communication services for Deaf people. UNIQTYPER® FORENSIC DNA KIT: a rapid, highly discriminatory and more affordable male-specific DNA profiling kit for the African market BAOBAB LIMS: an African-led open source affordable sample and laboratory management tool for biobanking that can be implemented in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) A NATURAL BIOFERTILISER FROM BOTANICAL EXTRACTS: A proudly South African, cost-effective, safe, natural and organic botanical fertiliser. The UWC exhibition booth also showcased the DSI Masters programme in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, managed by UWC, and offered jointly as a collaboration between UWC, University of Johannesburg, University of the Free State and Nelson Mandela University. The event proved to be a great place to meet with potential investors, collaborators and...
by ttoadmin | May 7, 2019 | Events, News, Uncategorized
On the 9th of May 2019, UWC will be celebrating world IP day, the main theme being “Reach for Gold IP and Sports”. Given such a special day, our campus community has been invited to join us and learn more about how IP is or could contribute and play an important role in sports. Special guests from NIPMO, Spoor & Fisher and our very own UWC researcher from SAIAMC will be joining us to celebrate this wonderful...
by ttoadmin | Mar 28, 2019 | Events, News, Uncategorized
The Department of Science and Technology’s first Top Intellectual Property Creators Award ceremony took place on the 28th of March 2019 at the Saint George’s Hotel and Convention Centre in Pretoria and was attended by Prof. Lototskyy and Monique Heystek from the TTO. University inventors with the most actionable disclosures for the period 2 August 2010 to 31 March 2018 each received a Certificate of Acknowledgement for their passion in ensuring that their research has practical application and seeks to result in an innovation that can be of benefit to society. In addition, each University’s Technology Transfer Office received from NIPMO a monetary contribution towards progressing these technology(ies) to the next stage of the innovation value chain. In her keynote address, the Minister of Science and Technology, Ms Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, made reference to the “innovation paradox”: Despite the vast potential returns on investment from innovation in developing countries, these countries tend to pursue innovation to a far lower extend than their advanced counterparts. The Minister then emphasised the need to increase South Africa’s capacity to innovate as a country. NIPMO incentives for intellectual property creators therefore seek to promote the conversion of research and development (R&D) outputs into products, processes and services that are of benefit to society. The minister commended the intellectual property creators for their good work and for being agents for positive change. She recognised that, by making disclosures, they forgo the prestige of publishing their work in reputable journals, and for this, she expressed gratitude. We wish for many more collaborative endeavours with these two innovative...
by ttoadmin | Jan 11, 2019 | Events, News, Uncategorized
Thursday 6th December, Bellville. The successful completion of the Alpha prototype of a male Y-Chromosome forensics detection kit, the UniQ-Typer, was announced on Thursday. This kit gives law enforcement agencies across the continent the ability to uniquely identify the perpetrators of crimes such as rape. This kit also finds application in familial studies. The announcement of the successful completion of the alpha prototype testing brings the hope of justice for thousands of rape victims across the continent a step closer. Speaking on behalf of the Forensics Laboratory of the University of the Western Cape, Eugenia D’Amato gave a synopsis of the performance of the kit during its alpha phase testing, where the kit demonstrated its unique ability to discriminate paternal lines in African male populations, especially when compared to products developed for Western populations. Key to this capability is the unique database of collected DNA profiles from African populations that is continuously updated with new profile data, improving the predictive capabilities of the kit. Together, the proprietary market set and the database, create a formidable market offering that the commercial partner to the consortium, Inqaba Biotec, believes will have a significant impact in the market. Mischa Fraser, representing Inqaba Biotec, and project manager for the development of the UniQ-Typer kit, stressed the importance of making available a dedicated product for African forensics laboratories. The impracticality of using Western developed kits was illustrated by Mr. Mpasi Lesaoana of the Lesotho Mounted Police service, who has been using the markers to populate the database with paternal lines from Lesotho. Mr Zephaniah Dhlamini of NUST in Zimbabwe spoke of a backlog of...
