WIPO Signs Cooperation Agreements with Two Leading Mexican Educational Institutions

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) signed this week separate cooperation agreements with two leading educational institutions in Mexico – the Technological Institute of Monterrey and the University of Guadalajara – to advance the teaching of intellectual property.

 

The Technological Institute of Monterrey, which has a student population of some 100,000 and specializes in applied sciences and technical fields, including biotechnology, business administration and education, is a multi-campus university system with academic centers in different regions of the country. It has a long tradition of teaching intellectual property in various disciplines, including engineering, agriculture and business. The University of Guadalajara, renowned for its schools of law and medicine, is the second largest public university in Mexico and also has a student population of some 100,000.  It is beginning to integrate intellectual property in its curricula. 

 

Since the Technological Institute of Monterrey adopted a policy on intellectual property in 2005, its patent filings with the Mexican Intellectual Property Institute (IMPI) have doubled from 10 in 2005 to 20 in 2007. As part of an earlier agreement with IMPI, the Institute has included the WIPO Academy’s distance learning course on intellectual property in its curriculum and so far more than 1,000 students have taken the course.  As a result of this trilateral agreement signed with the Institute and IMPI, the distance learning course will become compulsory.

 

Other joint projects include specialized intellectual property training for academics, regular convening of symposia on intellectual property and the launch of a Masters Program and Management designed for students in the fields of sciences and business.

 

The agreement signed with the University of Guadalajara mirrors that of the Technological Institute of Monterrey.

 

This is the first time a formal relationship is established between the WIPO Academy and academic institutions in Latin America and marks an important milestone in human resources development and capacity building in the region.