WIPO Academy Hosts First IPTIs Connect Session on IP Training for the Youth
November 14, 2023
The WIPO Academy organized the first Intellectual Property Training Institutions (IPTIs) Connect session on November 9, 2023 to bring together IPTI partners and trainers to learn from each other and share experiences. The first session in the series covered successful training programs aimed at the youth, to encourage other IPTIs to replicate the experiences based on the lessons learned and resources shared.
What did the first IPTIs Connect session cover?
The IPTIs Connect session was held virtually in Spanish, with Arabic and English interpretation for 168 participants from 32 countries. The focal points of the IPTIs in the Dominican Republic and El Salvador shared their experiences and engaged in a discussion with the participants in the session.
Ms. Narcis Tejada, the focal point of the National Academy of IP at the National Industrial Property Agency (ONAPI) of the Dominican Republic, talked about the innovation summer camp that was organized for the first time in 2016. The summer camps encourage high school students to go into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields in university, and learn about the importance of IP by linking it to innovation, design thinking, leadership and entrepreneurship. More than 400 high schoolers have benefitted from the innovation summer camps so far.
Ms. Johanna Ventura, the focal point of the School of IP (EPI) at the National Registration Center (CNR) of El Salvador, talked about a videogame contest that was launched earlier this year, in the framework of the WIPO Academy – EPI "Playing with IP" project. The contest tasked university students in El Salvador to develop an entertaining and educational videogame that can teach children and teenagers about IP. The winner of the competition won a 3,500 US Dollars cash prize, and the winning video game will be used as an educational tool by the IPTI in 2024.
Based on the discussions, the WIPO Academy will support the development of training activities for the youth using the resources and tools that were tried and tested by the pioneering IPTIs.