Opening the seminar on behalf of the Vice Chancellor, MUBAS Librarian Dr Eneya said universities remain key centres of innovation, making TTOs essential in ensuring that valuable innovations benefit communities and industries. She said the seminar was expected to help institutions establish frameworks that support the commercialisation of innovations.

“We expect that the various institutions will put up frameworks that will commercialise the innovations originating from our institutions. We know there are many innovations, but they have not yet reached the marketplace,” she said.

Acting Director of the National Commission for Science and Technology (NCST), Isaac Chingota, described the seminar as an important step towards promoting innovation and ensuring that innovations are accessible to the people who need them.

“We live in a world where we cannot do without innovation. We need to find solutions and be as innovative as possible. We need to make sure that we have new and better solutions to our problems and make them available to users,” said Chingota.

He also applauded the progress universities are making, noting that the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS) and Mzuzu University (MZUNI) have disclosed more than 40 inventions, while two trademarks have already been registered.

Chingota further noted that a start-up company from Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) has begun commercialising intellectual property. He said such progress would help move research from academic journals into the marketplace, where it can create tangible impact.

In her remarks, Guest of Honour Flora Shaba Pakulamtanda urged universities and other institutions to take IP registration seriously in order to protect their innovations.

The seminar also featured discussions on Malawi’s position within the African intellectual property landscape, innovation in sports, and success stories in innovation commercialisation.

Participants included representatives from the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS), University of Malawi (UNIMA), Mzuzu University (MZUNI), Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST), Copyright Society of Malawi (COSOMA), the Registrar General’s Office, and the National Commission for Science and Technology (NCST).