From December 7 to 9, 2024, the Salah-Boubnider University (Constantine 3) hosted the fourteenth National Innovation Fair, organized each year by the National Industrial Property Institute of Algeria (INAPI) to mark National Innovation Day (December 7), in collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Algeria Office.
The fair was opened by the Rector of Constantine 3 University, and the opening session featured opening statements by a representative of the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, the Director General of INAPI and the Director of the WIPO Algeria Office.
All the speakers underlined the importance of innovation as a driver of economic and social progress, and the best way of overcoming the challenges facing society.
The fair, on the theme of "The crossroads between industry and scientific", was well attended (by representatives of universities, companies and startups, researchers, innovative project leaders, and so on) and gave rise to direct exchanges between innovative project leaders and companies and manufacturers, thereby strengthening the links between research and development and the real economy.
The fair featured a number of activities and events, including the setting up of a network of the Technology and Innovation Support Center (TISC) specialized in pharmaceutical sciences (Pharma TISC). This thematic network has been set up at the Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center and will work with the Salah-Boubnider University (Constantine 3).
The members of this network and the pharmaceutical companies present benefited from an initial workshop on patent exploitation, the sharing of best practices and the benefits of strengthening collaboration in this field. To facilitate the activities of this network, INAPI has specially created a new platform for searching patent databases, focusing on pharmaceutical patents, and presented participants with practical tools for effectively exploiting intellectual property (IP) technical information.
The establishment of this specialized TISC comes after the setting up last April of a first specialized TISC network in green technologies and energies (ECO-TISC), and is part of the reorganization of the national TISC network with a view to gearing it more closely to real needs.
The fair also provided an opportunity for some 100 inventors from all over the country to compete for prizes for the three best inventions of 2024, presenting technological and industrial innovations, particularly in the fields of mechanics, electronics and electricity.
The Mohamed Seddik Ben Yahia University (Jijel) won the prize for best invention of the year for its development of an automated pyrolytic thermal spraying model, while second prize went to an inventor who developed an advanced afterburner chamber to improve the treatment of emissions from the combustion of oils containing polychlorinated biphenyl compounds.
The Houari-Boumediene University of Science and Technology won third prize for the development of a photonic coating to improve the efficiency of photovoltaic units.
TISC coordinators held their annual meeting in conjunction with the fair. They took stock of 2024 and finalized their program for the coming year. The aim of the program is to increase the value of research results and stimulate technology transfer. The national network was expanded on this occasion with the signing of an agreement establishing a new TISC at the Land Use Research Center. With its establishment, the network now numbers 134 centers.
Schoolchildren also took part in the fair this year, with the aim of familiarizing them with IP and promoting innovation “From school on”. That slogan was chosen by the TISC at Constantine 3 University, which also shot a supporting educational video.