At Universidad Panamericana, we know that ideas and research, despite being intangible, can potentially be valuable and helpful for society. The Conference on a culture of Industrial Property and Innovation was held at each of our campuses (Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Aguascalientes) with this in mind.
Authorities from each of our university’s campuses and public officials from the three cities attended the event, as well as businessmen from Mexico, including José Miguel Bejarano, Innovation Lead at Siemens Energy Mexico, Ramón González Figueroa, Tequila Regulatory Council Director, Guy Jean Savoir, President of the Innovation Science for Business Development Foundation (Innovación Ciencia para el Desarrollo Empresarial, INCIDE).
Promoting a culture of industrial property
During the conference launch, Dr. Abraham Mendoza Andrade, Panamericana’s General Vice Rector for Research, clarified that “the format of these conferences is similar across the three campuses because we intend to promote a culture of industrial property in general. Promoting this is essential to bring everything we develop as an institution through research closer to the realities and challenges faced by related industries.”
Dr. Claudia Ortega, Research Director at the Mexico City campus, mentioned that the conference aims “to increase the timely identification and appropriation of research results through the profiling of projects with transfer potential, linking researchers with the public, social, and private sectors.”
In turn, Dr. Francisco Medina Gomez, General Director of the State Council of Science and Technology of Jalisco, said that “Intellectual activity is the basis of the state and the country’s economic growth and development. The Universidad Panamericana’s effort is worthy of recognition, even on a national level. Together, academia, the government, and business must support the generation of talent.”
Promoting transformation
Afterward, Dr. Guillermo José Aguirre Esponda, President of the Mexican Association of Managers of Applied Research and Technological Development, praised Panamericana’s commitment to meeting the challenge of transforming inventions into useful products and having the necessary resources to successfully cross the so-called “valley of death,” located between pre-competitive technologies in their immature state and the aspects associated with the feasibility tests expected by the industry.
Manuel Alejandro González Martínez, Secretary of Economic Development, Science, Technology, and Innovation at Aguascalientes, commended the conference and said that “…innovation in the academic and scientific sectors is the first step toward economic growth, but without its commercialization, it cannot be called innovation.”
Innovation, competitiveness, and growth
During the event, the panel Industrial Property as a Factor of Innovation, Competitiveness, and Growth for the Future of Mexican Economy was held at the three venues and was moderated by Dr. Juan Alberto González Piñón, UP Corporate Director of Innovation and Transfer.
Dr. Piñón stated that, “We must take ownership of the knowledge we generate at our university. Otherwise, someone else will take it. And not only that, but they will profit from that knowledge.” For this reason, he invited those present to “start believing in the creative capacity of Panamericana researchers to produce new science.”
Promoting intellectual property
The need to promote intellectual property was continually mentioned during this panel because, in general, our country lacks knowhow regarding what to do once scientific knowledge is developed, both in educational and research institutions.
“University professors need to know how to define and detect the novelty of what is done through their work and research results, as well as at what point it can be patented,” said Dr. Mendoza at the Aguascalientes campus when asked if the country’s universities are behind in this regard.
Social impact
Larisa Cruz Ornelas, General Director of Science and Technological Development at SICyT, mentioned that, “The efforts of universities and research centers in the State of Jalisco in promoting scientific activity, innovation, and patenting are now a constant, which shows the interest of these knowledge-generating entities in having a positive impact on society and the market.”
Mario Rodríguez Montero, IMPI Deputy General Director, stated that “Advances in scientific knowledge produce results that give rise to inventions and intellectual creations that, through innovation, help solve socioeconomic and environmental problems, having a positive impact on improving people’s wellbeing. That is why Universidad Panamericana’s commitment today is a great achievement.”
Through these types of activities, Panamericana reflects its commitment to the promotion of a culture of industrial property, while also providing socially relevant and reliable information so that the different stakeholders (especially entrepreneurs and investors) can carry out their professional practice in a context of certainty and protection of their ideas and innovation processes.
