Singapore, 23 August 2016 – Graduates, new professionals and mid-careerists will soon be able to fortify and advance their careers in today’s innovation economy, through a new graduate programme in Intellectual Property (IP) and Innovation Management, leading to a Masters.

 

2.     Launched at the opening day of Singapore’s annual premier international IP event, IP Week @ SG 2016, the skill-based and practice-focused programme aims to value-add to local professionals’ careers and grow a pool of industry-ready IP professionals to spur Singapore’s future innovation-driven economy. Jointly developed by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) and SIM University, enrolment for the highly anticipated graduate course will commence in July 2017.

 

3.     Singapore’s demand for such specialised IP skills and knowledge is anticipated to increase by 500 over the next five years, in key innovation-based industries such as robotics, healthcare, ICT, and urban sustainability solutions[1]. To further support this significant growth in home-based IP skillsets and expertise, IPOS and the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) will launch an IP Professional Conversion Programme (IP PCP) in early 2017. IP PCP is a multi-disciplinary programme aimed at equipping mid-career professionals with skills and knowledge in the areas of IP law, business and technology. Successful individuals placed on the IP PCP will be trained in job roles such as patent agents, IP managers and IP technology consultants, to better apply the skills and knowledge that they have acquired into practice. 

4.     Professor Cheong Hee Kiat, President of SIM University, shared, “As the business environment becomes more competitive and dynamic, companies are leveraging innovation to stay ahead of the game. Effective management of IP helps these companies take their innovations to markets successfully, while protecting their IP rights. This Masters in Intellectual Property and Innovation Management programme, which we are pleased to have jointly developed with IPOS, will give them the appropriate know-how.”

 

5.     Mr Ng Cher Pong, Chief Executive, WDA, added, “Understanding and managing IP are key to supporting research and development work. Through the IP PCP, WDA is committed to partnering IPOS and SIM University to develop a pool of competent IP professionals who will play an integral role in this transformation. WDA will continue to work closely with our partners to develop IP and innovation expertise in Singapore.”

 

 

6.     At the IP Week @ SG 2016 opening ceremony, Ms Indranee Rajah, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Law, presented the prestigious WIPO-IPOS IP Awards to four outstanding local enterprises that used IP effectively to take their innovative technology, brands and content to the world. An overview of the awards, judges and the winning companies may be found in Annex A. The award winners are:

 

 

7.     One of the panel’s esteemed judges is Professor Hang Chang Chieh, Executive Director, Institute for Engineering Leadership at the Faculty of Engineering, National University of Singapore. Owner of several patents, Prof Hang explained, “NSP’s invention is simple to use, effective and affordable – all thanks to the innovative design as well as extensive R&D in the manufacturing process. Its ease of use and the almost painless experience will encourage diabetes patients to do regular blood glucose monitoring at home. This Singapore invention has great market potential and its impending commercial success will bring benefits to millions of patients globally, as well as enhance the innovation reputation of Singapore.”

 

8.     Congratulating the winners, Mr Daren Tang, Chief Executive of IPOS, said, “Innovative businesses need to use IP strategically in order to stay ahead of their competitors and fully monetise their ideas. IPOS is proud to honour and celebrate local, innovative companies that have done this successfully. Together with our partners, IPOS will support and grow even more local entrepreneurs that can effectively translate their creative and innovative ideas into market share, which in turn will create jobs and help power our future economy.”

 

9.     At the side-lines of IP Week @ SG 2016, IPOS’ subsidiary, IP ValueLab, signed a partnership agreement with the Singapore Manufacturing Federation’s training arm – Singapore Innovation and Productivity Institute (SiPi) – to accelerate IP learning and adoption in innovation-based SMEs. Under the agreement, IP management programmes will be incorporated into SiPi’s Business Model Innovation (BMI) master class. The first run of the course will begin in November 2016.

 

10.   IP Week @ SG is now in its 5^th year and is attended by thousands of participants from close to 30 countries annually. Themed “Powering the Innovation Cycle through IP” this year, this keynote IP event of Singapore again plays host to IP and innovation luminaries, business leaders and key decision makers from around the world to network, engage and gain insights on using IP to protect and monetise innovation.. More information may be found at www.ipweek.sg.

 

 

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The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Law. We develop the right legal regime and business ecosystem to support an innovation-driven economy, build IP skills and expertise and foster innovation and creativity for Singapore’s future growth. We deliver on our commitments through our core values of integrity, professionalism, team work and by investing in our greatest asset – our people. More information on IPOS may be found at www.ipos.gov.sg.

Source: IPOS