Launch of CATI green technology network

This year, under the theme, IP and the SDGs: Building our common future with innovation and creativity », World Intellectual Property Day is being celebrated for an entire month (Intellectual Property Month) by a number of Algerian academic institutions, together with the Algerian National Institute of Industrial Property (INAPI) and the WIPO Algeria Office. The University of Constantine 3 was the focus of celebrations on April 29, hosting the Director General of INAPI, the Director of the WIPO Algeria Office, and the heads of a number of Technology and Innovation Support Centers (CATI).

In his opening address, Professor Baitiche Chaabane, Rector of the University of Constantine 3, described innovation as a national priority, and recalled the wide-ranging actions being undertaken to stimulate the innovation ecosystem and lay the foundations for a knowledge-based economy.

Citing WIPO Director General, Mr. Daren Tang, Mr. Mohamed Saleck Ahmed Ethmane, Director of the WIPO Algeria Office, emphasized that human ingenuity had always enabled humanity to overcome challenges and that, to get the SDGs back on track, the world needed to harness IP as a driving force to unleash the potential of innovation. He also outlined the programs run by WIPO that are directly linked to the SDGs, including in the areas of innovation, health, economic growth, climate action and education. Mr. Abdelhafid Belmehdi, Director General of INAPI, shared insights into the use of patents in green technologies, and the role that IP can play to speed up green innovation and foster the transition to sustainable solutions.

Peter Oksen, Green Technology and Research Manager at WIPO, presented the WIPO GREEN platform and how it connects users and providers of sustainable technologies, making it the world’s largest marketplace for green innovation. This extensive network has several thousand members in 170 countries, united by a common desire to disseminate green technologies and, ultimately, to contribute to the fight against climate change.

The day’s celebrations focused on the crucial role of IP as a catalyst for innovation and, in particular, how it contributes to the fight against climate change and has the potential to do so even more. To mark the occasion, the University organized a competition, UC3-WorldIPDay: Sustainable Development - Green Technologies, a competition for innovative projects in the field of environmental protection and sustainable development. Thirty-four high-quality projects were entered into the competition, the top three winning prizes. Several such projects include components (software) that could be protected by patent or copyright.

The day was topped off by the launch of a CATI network specializing in green technologies and energies. Under the coordination of the CATIs of the national Environmental Research Center and the University of Constantine 3, the CATI-ECO network will bring together all Algerian CATIs involved in green innovation. The network’s members will pool their efforts, and share best practices, thereby creating virtuous synergies for the benefit of all.

This specialized network was set up as part of an ongoing reorganization of the national CATI network around key thematic pillars.

According to the SCImago Institutions Rankings, the University of Constantine 3 holds first place in Algeria in environmental sciences and fifth place out of 211 African universities. It has some 20 patent applications pending in the field of clean technologies. It is also the only Algerian university to have adopted an IP policy.

The event provided a unique opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of IP for sustainable development. It has also strengthened links between the University and innovators and given fresh impetus to ingenuity and talent within the university scientific community.