University of Asia Pacific (UAP) and the Department of Patents, Industrial Designs and Trademarks (DPDT) under the Ministry of Industries have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to strengthen intellectual property (IP) protection, promote innovation and support patent registration for researchers.
The MoU was signed on Tuesday at the Vice-Chancellor’s Conference Room of UAP. A programme and training session followed the signing, where the establishment of a Technology and Innovation Support Centre (TISC) at UAP was discussed to enhance innovation support and facilitate access to patent information and technology resources.
Speaking at the programme, DPDT Director General Md Jahangir Hossain said DPDT was interested in establishing a support office at UAP to provide guidance on patent registration, industrial designs and trademarks.
He said the proposed TISC would strengthen research and innovation by providing technical support and access to global patent databases. He also praised UAP’s pharmacy laboratories and academia-industry collaboration, saying intellectual property protection was essential for innovation, business development and economic growth.
Dean of the School of Pharmacy of UAP Mohammad Shahriar said the MoU would strengthen research and innovation by promoting intellectual property awareness and facilitating patent protection for faculty members and researchers.
Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy of University of Dhaka Md Selim Reza urged UAP to formulate its own intellectual property policy, noting that countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia had benefited from comprehensive IP frameworks. He said the MoU would facilitate seminars, training programmes and capacity-building initiatives.
Dean of the School of Environmental Science and Design of UAP Abu Sayeed M Ahmed emphasised collaboration through memoranda of agreement (MoAs) among universities to promote research, training, knowledge exchange and shared laboratory facilities.
Dean of the School of Business of UAP M A Baqui Khalili said the partnership would help researchers better understand patents, industrial designs and trademarks and protect their innovations effectively.
In his concluding remarks, UAP Acting Vice-Chancellor Mohiuddin Ahmed Bhuiyan thanked Md Jahangir Hossain and DPDT Deputy Director (Patents) Md Habibur Rahman for their initiative to establish a DPDT support office at UAP.
He also welcomed a proposed MoA between UAP and the University of Dhaka and suggested introducing laboratory and research facility exchange programmes under corporate social responsibility (CSR) as part of UAP’s 30th anniversary celebrations.
The programme was conducted by UAP Registrar AKM Nazrul Islam.
Among those present were Director of the Institute of Research, Innovation and Development (IRID), UAP Tanveer Ferdous Saeed, Head of the Department of Pharmacy, UAP Zabun Nahar, Deputy Director (Patents), DPDT Md Habibur Rahman, Assistant Professor of Department of Pharmacy, UAP Shihab Uddin Ahmad and Assistant Director, IRID, UAP Mahammad Ferdaus.
Earlier, Md Jahangir Hossain and Md Habibur Rahman conducted a training session on patents and intellectual property, attended by faculty representatives from all academic departments of UAP.
