NOTAP Concludes Maiden Awards of Best IPTTO

National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), has presented awards to the best performing Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer Offices (IPTTO) in Nigeria.

The awards NOTAP said will fast track the country’s economic development.

Mrs Idoreyin Imiyoho, NOTAP’s acting director general said, the establishment of IPTTOs in Nigerian knowledge institutions across the country was a NOTAP initiative in collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), based in Geneva, Switzerland.

The aim of the initiative, she said, is to sensitise Nigerian knowledge institutions on the importance of Intellectual Property Right (IPR) as well as the need to engage in market driven research as against conventional research.

She added that the Office is prepared to establish IPTTOs in all Universities, Polytechnics and Research establishments in Nigeria.

“The world economy is driven and sustained by knowledge therefore as a regulatory agency saddled with the responsibility of regulating the inflow of foreign technologies through the registration of technology transfer agreements,” he said.

While presenting the award, Mrs Anie Caroline Osuagwu, representative of the Ag DG NOTAP, Director, Technology Acquisition and Research Coordination NOTAP, presented a cash reward of N500,000 to the University of Port-Harcourt as winners while the Universities of Lagos and Ilorin went home with N300,000 and N200,000 respectively.

She said the ranking of IPTTOs in the country was necessary in order to encourage demand-driven research and launch Nigeria into the comity of technologically independent nations.

Professor Mary Pascal Iwundu, director of IPTTO, UniPort and a recipient of the award in her acceptance speech lauded NOTAP for its efforts in recognising the efforts of researchers in the country.

UniPort beat 47 other research institutions to emerge top in the country.

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