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Brunei: Focus on fostering innovation ecosystem
BUSINESS start-up programmes at DARe (Darussalam Enterprise), intellectual property (IP) protection in Brunei Darussalam, and a local solar company’s journey in patenting their products were among the topics discussed at the ‘Industry 4.0: Convergence of Innovation’ executive seminar held at Lecture Theatre 2 of Universiti Teknologi Brunei’s (UTB) Library Complex yesterday.
The seminar was held in conjunction with the Crown Prince CIPTA Award 2019.
The guest of honour was Brunei LNG Sdn Bhd Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Patrice Girard. Acting Vice-Chancellor of UTB Haji Ady Syarmin bin Haji Md Taib was also present.
Head of the CIPTA Seminar Organising Committee Dr Haji Mohammad Khairul Ja’afar bin Haji Masri quoted Minister of Education Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Hamzah bin Haji Sulaiman’s speech in which he emphasised the importance of fostering an innovation ecosystem with competition platforms such as the CIPTA.
“The innovation ecosystem is a support system to enable ideas or products that have the potential for commercialisation to be developed, IP-protected and marketed,” he said. “For this to be possible there is a need for continuous coordination and collaborative actions between the government and private sectors, universities, entrepreneurs and other relevant stakeholders.”
Three presentations were delivered at the seminar.
The first presentation entitled ‘Innovation & Entrepreneurship – How DARe can help you?’ was presented by Manager of Market Access at DARe Diana binti Haji Ramli.
Diana talked about the current programmes and assistance provided by DARe to help individuals turn their innovative ideas into thriving businesses – these include upskilling programmes and other forms of business support.
The second speaker Assistant Executive Officer at the Brunei Intellectual Property Office (BruIPO) Tengku Diana binti Tengku Syed Abdul Rahman delivered a talk entitled ‘Intellectual Property in Brunei Darussalam’.
In her presentation, Tengku Diana shared with the audience the objectives of intellectual property (IP) and the four different types of IP protection: patents, trademarks, industrial design and plant variety protection.
She also talked briefly about IP protection fees and the benefits of IP protection.
The final presentation, entitled ‘Patent Journey for Solar Colar Panel PCT Route’ was delivered by Director of RAB Global Green Sdn Bhd Rabiatul Adawiyah binti Abdullah.
In her presentation, Rabiatul Adawiyah focussed on the detailed process of obtaining the patent for the company’s innovative coloured solar panels and the role RAB Global Green plays in the future of renewable energy in Brunei Darussalam.
Following the talks, the guest of honour and other guests toured the exhibition booths at the venue. Exhibitors included DARe, BruIPO, RAB Global Green, Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD) Corporate Banking, and Bank Usahawan.
Source: https://borneobulletin.com.bn/focus-on-fostering-innovation-ecosystem/