Historical Background of the MIP Programme

Historical Background of the MIP Programme

In July 2008, the world intellectual property organization (WIPO) and the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) held a Colloquium, at the ARIPO Headquarters on Intellectual Property (IP) education, training and research. During the Colloquium, the participants called for an emergency action plan to address the critical shortage of intellectual property professionals and experts in Africa. They requested WIPO academy and ARIPO in cooperation with Universities in Africa to establish the Training of a Trainers Programme at the level of a Masters in Intellectual Property (MIP) Degree in Universities in the member states of ARIPO. It was felt that this approach would provide a pragmatic response to the need for enhancement of the human resource development in IP in Africa. KNUST a Pan- African institution based in Kumasi Ghana and was identified and included as a suitable partner to run the programme in the West African Sub Region due to its Pan African orientation, serene environment and adequate learning facilities among other qualities. Consequently ARIPO and KNUST have established a Masters degree in intellectual property (MIP) Programme in 2018. The programme commenced in August 2018 and anticipated students from 24 countries across Africa.