By Mindvault Sdn Bhd

Kuala Lumpur, Mon – The IP Academy of Singapore and Mindvault Sdn Bhd are conducting a joint seminar on “Commercialisation of Research & Development in Universities and Public Research Organisations” in Kuala Lumpur on October 5. The seminar will be facilitated by Dr Kwa Siew Hwa, whose expertise lies in the realm of ‘technology transfer’.

Dr Kwa was the Interim Director of INTRO, the Technology Transfer Office of the National University of Singapore and was also a key advisor in the setting up of a Technology Transfer Office for the National Research Institutes in Singapore. Her seminar aims to cover the following areas: definition of research and intellectual property in universities; formation of the Technology Transfer Office; IP policies, commercialisation strategies and much more.

According to Mindvault director David Oh, Budget 2005 signals the Government’s focus on promoting commercialization of R&D by setting up a RM300 million seed capital fund to build relevant skill sets in the agriculture industry.

“Budget 2005 further alludes to the fact that researchers may finally expect to directly reap the benefits from the commercialization of their research activities – via ‘royalties’ or equity in ‘commercial vehicles’,” said Oh.

For these initiatives to succeed, “it is imperative that the appropriate structures, policies and skills are built to identify the routes to commercialization for all research and development conducted in Malaysia, regardless of industry sector”.

“We seek to learn from a seasoned practitioner such as Dr Kwa, to share with us her experiences in the area of technology transfer,” he ended.

The IP Academy sees this as “a great opportunity to cooperate with other IP educators and research institutes from around the region and we hope that participants will gain a good overview of a university’s technology transfer function”.

The seminar will be conducted on Tuesday, 5th October 2004, at Crystal Crown Hotel, Petaling Jaya from 8.30 am to 1 pm. To register, please call 6203 5070 or email [email protected].