From knowledge to impact: Bridging the academic-entrepreneurship divide
- Wits University
Aspiring African innovators and entrepreneurs converge at Wits to learn skills to transform ideas into market-ready solutions.
“In South Africa, universities generate 85% of all new knowledge but less than 10% of all innovations. This divide between research and impact can only be bridged if scholars adopt an innovation and entrepreneurial mindset”, said Professor Lynn Morris, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Innovation at Wits.
She welcomed early-career academic staff and researchers, postdocs, postgraduates and undergraduate students to the annual Prospector’s Course in Entrepreneurship at Wits. Presented by the Wits Innovation Centre (WIC) and held during the University’s winter break, the five-day Course introduced participants from South Africa, Africa and through the Afretec Network, to the basics of innovation and entrepreneurship.
“At Wits we are very intentional about how we can make the most of our research. With the establishment of the Wits Innovation Centre, we are investing resources into helping our researchers, staff and students to take their research and ideas beyond the traditional research output of publications, presentations and new grants, and turn them into real products and services,” she said.
The Course teaches participants how to identify opportunities where innovative technical solutions can address the needs of society; how to identify real users and stakeholders to take these ideas to market; and how to protect the innovation’s competitive advantages, develop a viable business model, sound business plans and commercialisation strategy.
The workshops also introduce scientists and engineers to the process of innovation, generation and protection of intellectual property, technology transfer and commercialisation of inventions. Through lectures by invited speakers, case studies, group discussions and role-playing sessions related to commercialisation, the participants gain the know-how to develop and grow their ideas.
“We are in the best position, of all people in history, to innovate and change the world with the technology we can build. This puts us at an incredible advantage to champion the potential of scientists and engineers to be innovative entrepreneurs,” said Dr Adam Pantanowitz, Director of the Wits Innovation Centre (WIC) and the Angela and David Fine Chair in Innovation.
网易体育 the Wits Innovation Centre (WIC)
The Wits Innovation Centre (WIC) lies at the heart of the University’s innovation ecosystem and seeks to develop an ‘innovation mindset’ across all disciplines and boundaries. This is where brilliant minds gather to create, collaborate, and drive multidisciplinary innovation that leads to impactful solutions. #WitsInnovation | #InnovationForGood