Women and IP: Accelerating innovation and creativity

UCT Research Contracts & Innovation enjoyed celebrating World Intellectual Property Organization – WIPO World IP Day with Inventors at the Irma Stern Museum, University of Cape Town. The theme this year is "Women and IP: Accelerating innovation and creativity".

Jetane Charsley Head: National Intellectual Property Management Office (NIPMO) was able to attend the celebration, which was generously funded by NIPMO too - we appreciate the support!

We were also really pleased to have Lien VERBAUWHEDE KOGLIN from WIPO who is spending the year in South Africa at UCT, share insights into the gender disparity in the IP and innovation space and global WIPO iniatives to resolve them. Although as DVC Prof Sue Harrison said, UCT is certainly bucking that trend, with strong women enterpreneurs leading spin-off companies and 62% of the inventors in 2022 being women.

Prof Virna Leaner presented on her cancer research, with a special interest in cervical cancer - a research area in which she had noted the unfortunate prevalence in South African women in the community in which she grew up in. She is making significant strides in the drug development space, with research featuring in two of the top eight innovation trends in cancer treatment (see https://lnkd.in/es6JTpSi)

Dr Dale Rae spoke about her entrepreneurial journey leading to the formation of spin-off company Sleep Science commercialising years of her and her team's research. Sleep - something that we all have in common and an important factor in well-being and productivity.