Calling all IP Teachers and Researchers in Africa!

Afro Leo is very excited to learn that the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) are organising the first Regional WIPO-WTO Colloquium for IP Teachers and Researchers in Africa.

This WIPO-WTO Colloquium will be held from April 9 to 12, 2018 followed by IP Scholars Africa Conference, hosted by University of South Africa (UNISA) on April 13, 2018, both held at UNISA in Pretoria, South Africa. 

The Colloquium for IP Teachers and Researchers in Africa will:

• provide IP academics in the region with a greater understanding of current international developments in IP law and policy, and the status of WIPO and WTO agreements and ongoing work with bearing on IP, focusing on current activities of particular relevance to the African context; 
• map existing IP teaching and scholarship in Africa, promote cutting edge research focused on the region, and encourage the publication of high quality research as a means of building domestic capacity for adapting and applying policy options within the framework of international IP standards and the broader legal and policy context;
• provide a forum to build academic collaboration, including on current teaching methodologies in the area of IP law, with a view to strengthening collaborative networks and academic exchanges across Africa so as to build sustained policy and legal capacity in African developing countries; 
• identify how WIPO and the WTO can improve their support for teaching and research capacity on international IP law in Africa, on IP teaching, academic exchanges, and a stronger network of African IP scholars and teachers; and
• prepare for the publication of presented research papers in the "WIPO-WTO Colloquium Papers: 2018 Africa Edition".

The Colloquium will be linked with the Works-in-Progress Conference “IP Scholars Africa” hosted by the SARChI Chair, UNISA, in order to:

Provide a platform for IP teachers and researchers selected by WIPO, the WTO and UNISA to present their research work in progress to a larger audience of experts at the Conference.  WIPO and WTO officials will participate in plenary panels to offer information about work in the WIPO and WTO, including on areas of capacity building and technical assistance, to a larger audience of IP scholars in Africa and beyond.

• Offer the opportunity for WIPO and WTO to identify IP teachers and scholars in the region and create a more comprehensive database of IP scholars and their institutions, including for their future contribution to the delivery of technical assistance in the region. 

For more information please contact Karen Zaayman at zaaymcj@unisa.ac.za or wipo-wto-ipsacolloq@wipo.int

Scholarships

Between 15 to 20 scholarships are available from WIPO and the WTO for IP teachers and researchers preparing a paper for publication in the 2018 Colloquium Papers Edition.

Scholarships cover: return ticket; fees related to the Colloquium; full board and lodging.

Successful applicants for WIPO and WTO scholarships will be notified by the WIPO Academy and the WTO Intellectual Property, Government Procurement and Competition Division. Thereafter, they will be provided with relevant information, including travel arrangements.

Kindly inform your colleagues and friends who qualify to participate in the Colloquium and IP Scholars Africa to apply online. All applications are done online: WIPO Academy (link no longer available). Deadline for applications is: February 25, 2018.