“You are the engines of tomorrow” – Mr Craig Wing

The Technology Transfer and Innovation Support (TTIS) office at the North-West University (NWU) recently hosted a celebration event for NWU intellectual property (IP) creators.

The mandate of the TTIS is to assist researchers and inventors at the NWU to transform their research into new and viable products and services for socio-economic benefit. The deputy vice-chancellor of Research and Innovation, Prof Jeffrey Mphahlele, opened the event with a word of welcome to the researchers: “It is our mission to motivate and support IP creators and give them the recognition that they deserve. The NWU does not take you for granted! We are thankful that our researchers always go the extra mile and we are proud of the effort!”

The TTIS provides support and assistance to carry research by academics into the hands of the community that needs it. “I do not know where my team stops and the TTIS team begins – we are interwoven in every step of the journey and I am extremely grateful for their support,” shares Prof Leenta Grobler. Prof Leenta is only one of the innovators whom the TTIS has helped in developing more than 10 innovations, from the app TjopTjop, a Covid-19 health screening solution for schools and businesses, to a digital infantometer to monitor baby development.

The purpose of the Celebrating NWU IP Creators event was not only to thank the creators for their hard work but also to nurture relationships and to motivate them in their research and innovation endeavours.

The role of the TTIS encompasses the identification of commercialisable intellectual property, the registration of patents and trademarks where applicable, sourcing funding, negotiating with investors, and commercialising innovations. Dr Janine Chantson, chief director of TTIS, shared that 2022 was the year in which the TTIS received a record number of IP disclosures as well as applications for seed funding. “Thanks to the researchers’ hard work, innovation is growing at the NWU,” she shared.

After the welcoming of the guests by Prof Jeffrey, Dr Mesuli Mbanjwa from the TTIS office introduced the guest speaker, Craig Wing. Mr Wing is a futurist, entrepreneur and global keynote speaker with past corporate clients like Audi, Deloitte, ABSA, Sanlam and many more. He has mentored and advised over 1 000 entrepreneurs and is also a best-selling author on Amazon. He holds dual master’s degrees in Engineering and Business and is completing a PhD in Futures Thinking from the University of Johannesburg. He gave a refreshing presentation that certainly affected the attendees and, as Prof Jeffrey expressed it, “reset our thinking!”

Dr Petro Erasmus, IP creator of Let’s Really Play Maths, a fun approach that helps children learn, play, enjoy and master maths, also attended the celebration and shared her experience working with TTIS. “Just the idea of putting your research out into the commercial market is thrilling, and the reality of this is absolutely life-changing! The TTIS helped me to introduce my research into practice as products and feasible programmes to help kids enjoy maths,” she explained.

Prof Ushotanefe Useh, IP creator of the NWU Lifestyle Diseases App, shared that he and his team would not be able to help as many people and children suffering from non-communicable diseases if it were not for the TTIS. The TTIS provided advice on the further development of the app and also gave input on how to position the app for commercialisation and further research. “They did the hard work of getting our app into the market and connecting with corporate giants like Discovery Health to commercialise it,” he shares.

In a room filled with minds holding the future, stories of various IP journeys were shared and it became clear that these creators appreciate every effort that supports them in getting their research out there to the people who need it the most. At the NWU, the research does not gather dust somewhere on a shelf – many efforts are made to get the research outputs into society! Prof Leenta Grobler stated that she is looking forward to many more events like this one: “The TTIS has a powerful impact on our research, they always go above and beyond! Thank you to them!”

Dr Petro Erasmus and her maths Whartels.

Mr Craig Wing, futurist and speaker at the event.