WIPO Signs Agreement with KIPO, the Korea Development Institute School and Sejong City
June 14, 2019
WIPO Director General Francis Gurry signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), the Korea Development Institute School of Public Policy and Management (KDIS) and Sejong City on June 13, 2019, in Seoul to establish a Joint Master's Degree Program in Intellectual Property and Development Policy (MIPD) at KDIS.
Director General Gurry signed the agreement during his official visit to the Republic of Korea from June 11 to 14, where he also participated in an IP5 Head of Office meeting.
What will the MIPD cover?
The new MIPD in the Republic of Korea aims to provide students with knowledge and practical expertise on the use of intellectual property (IP) for innovation, economic growth and sustainable development. The program is designed to respond to the international need for human resources in IP and development, and to nurture IP policymakers and global leaders working in the public and private sector.
The program will be offered starting January 2020. Experts from the KDIS faculty, KIPO and WIPO – alongside speakers from the private sector and academia – will teach the MIPD courses. Additionally, the government of Sejong City will support the practical education aspect of the program by providing internship opportunities for international students.
Further information on the new Joint Master’s Degree Program, including registration procedures, should be available on the WIPO Academy website from September 2019.
What the Key Partners are saying
I am very proud of the program and appreciate the initiative of WIPO, hopefully the excellence in education capacity of KDIS and the IP professionalism of WIPO and KIPO, would develop into a great program.
Dr. Jeong Pyo Choi, President of KDIS
I will do my best to make the program successful, including providing internships for international students to enable them to apply their learned knowledge to a practical IP field.
Dr. Choon-hee Lee, Mayor of Sejong City
I appreciate the participation of the cooperating partners in developing this Joint Master’s Degree Program in KDIS. The program, for the first time in the world, combines IP and development and will create synergic effects in nurturing high-caliber talents in IP, who will in turn contribute to economic growth.Dr. Won-joo Park, Commissioner of KIPO
No country is better than the Republic of Korea to share experiences in the IP and development area, given that it has experiences in making the best use of IP for economic development.
Mr. Francis Gurry, Director General of WIPO