NUC Encourages Universities to Embrace IPTTO

As the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) continues to demystify technology through the establishment of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer Offices (IPTTOs) in some Nigerian knowledge Institutions across the Country, the National University Commission (NUC) encourages Universities to establish one in their Institutions.

Speaking during the commissioning of IPTTO in Delta State University Abraka, Delta State, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Victor Peretomode said IPTTO was very important to the development of critical mass of skilled manpower through research.

He said he was glad, when at a retreat of the Vice Chancellors with the NUC held in Abuja, the Executive Secretary of the Commission talked about the benefits of IPTTO and encouraged all Universities to embrace it for an increased high tech research.

The VC further stated that the importance of the IPTTO to critical research in the Nigerian Universities cannot be over emphasized and urged researchers to be more attentive to the technical training which will be offered by NOTAP as that will expose their minds to the issue of patent and commercialization of R&D results.

He thanked the Director General of NOTAP for counting the Institution worthy of having IPTTO and promised that the confidence reposed on the Institution by NOTAP shall not be toyed with.

While performing the Commissioning ceremony of the office, the Director General of NOTAP, Dr. DanAzumi Mohammed Ibrahim said NOTAPs initiative to establish IPTTOs in the Nigerian knowledge institutions was to create awareness on the importance of Intellectual Property to socio-economic development of the country.

He said the Office in carrying out her statutory function realized that over 90% of the technologies that power the Nigerian economy are foreign and for a country that strives to be one of the highest economies in the 20:2020, Nigeria cannot afford to depend on importation.

The DG further noted that the establishment of IPTTO in Abraka was to inculcate the intellectual property culture on researchers and ensure that they no longer carry out research as mere academic exercise but engage in R&D activities to come up with patentable inventions that could generate royalty for the Institution.

He lamented that no Nigerian University is ranked amongst the first one hundred in the world because of low IPR culture, adding that Patents as well as scholarly peer-reviewed publications are part of the criteria for ranking tertiary institutions and for assessing the strengths of nations for their technological prowess.

He further stated that Universities in the developed countries have demonstrated that inventions from their research centers, (equivalent to IPTTOs) are veritable instruments through which tertiary and research institutions could economically sustain themselves via commercialization and licensing of their R&D results.