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Director General Signs Agreements for New Joint Master's Programs in India, Morocco & Saudi Arabia

October 23, 2023

WIPO Director General Daren Tang signed three new agreements for WIPO Joint Master's Programs in India, Morocco and Saudi Arabia during his recent visits to these countries. The new Joint Master’s Programs will be open for applications in 2024 on the WIPO eLearning Center, and will build upon the WIPO Academy's growing support for intellectual property (IP) higher education around the world.

Saudi Arabia: Joint Master's Degree Program in IP, Entrepreneurship and Innovation

On October 2, 2023, Mr. Tang signed an agreement with Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Swailem, the CEO of the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP), and Prof. Farid Al-Ghamdi, the Acting President of Umm Al-Qura University to offer a Joint Master's Degree Program in IP and Entrepreneurship and Innovation (MIPEI).

(photo: saip)

By launching a new Joint Master’s Degree in IP, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, WIPO will help build the skills and expertise needed to navigate the fast-changing tech and innovation landscape around us. As our first Joint Master’s in the Arab region, it is also an important milestone in WIPO’s efforts to bring IP to all parts of the world, and we hope that this will be the first step in a long and fruitful collaboration with Umm Al-Qura.

Daren Tang, WIPO Director General

The MIPEI will be delivered in-person, and in Arabic, by IP experts from WIPO and the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP), in addition to professors from Umm Al-Qura University in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The year and a half program will cover core topics relevant to IP in the context of entrepreneurship and innovation including:

  • International IP policies and protection;
  • Innovation: From plan to production;
  • Patent licensing and technology transfer;
  • Legal professionalism and ethics;
  • Entrepreneurship from A to Z; and
  • IP management

As part of the program, participants will have to successfully complete a final research project.

Morocco: Joint Executive Master's Degree Program in IP and Innovation

Mr. Tang launched WIPO's third Joint Master's Degree Program in Africa on October 5, 2023, with the signing of an agreement with Mr. Abdelazizi Babqiqi, Director General of the Moroccan Office of Industrial and Commercial Property (OMPIC), and Mr. Hicham El Habti, President of the Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique de Ben Guerir. The new Joint Executive Master's Degree Program in IP and Innovation (MIPI) will be the first to be delivered in-person simultaneously in Arabic, English and French to maximize inclusivity among participants.

The MIPI is also WIPO's first higher education program in the African region with a specialization in innovation, and WIPO will also support the program by providing IP experts to teach in all three languages.

(photo: ompic)

India: Joint Master's Degree in Intellectual Property and Management

On October 12, 2023, Mr. Tang met with Mr. Unnat P. Pandit, the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks of India, and Mr. G.S. Bajpai, the Vice Chancellor of the National Law University of New Delhi to sign a letter of intent to establish a Joint Master's in IP and Management. The program will be WIPO's first dual-track graduate program, offering a year-long Masters of Laws (LL.M.) for those with a legal background, or alternatively a year-long Master's Degree in IP for students without a law background.

The program will respond to the increasing relevance of IP across India, especially for the business and commerce sectors, as well as for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which are key drivers of economic development. This is in line with the WIPO Academy’s mission to broaden access to IP knowledge, skills and education for the benefit all.

Both tracks of the Joint Master's in IP and Management will cover core topics such as:

  • Research methods;
  • Comparative IP law and systems of governance;
  • International IP law and globalization in India and South Asia;
  • IP and innovation; and
  • IP licensing and contract management.
(photo: wipo / shamoon)

Given the increasing relevance of IP in all sectors of the knowledge economy, there is growing demand for specialized education in the field of IP. The WIPO Academy is continuously working to provide the best IP higher education in areas of specialization that address topical issues pertinent to different stakeholders. Our Joint Master’s Programs are shifting focus to specializations in strategic areas related to IP and business, innovation, new technologies, and technology transfer thus ensuring that we equip future generations entering the workforce with the agile skills and knowledge needed to match this fast evolving landscape.

Sherif Saadallah, Executive Director of the WIPO Academy

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