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 researchers!