The University of Ghana on Thursday November 20, hosted a high-level delegation from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) at the Research and Innovation Directorate (RID), as part of WIPO’s official visit to Ghana from 19–21 November 2025. The engagement, led by Mr. Daren Tang, Director General of WIPO, brought together senior WIPO officials, representatives of Ghana’s tertiary institutions, and key national stakeholders to explore avenues for strengthening innovation and technology-transfer in Ghana.
Opening the meeting, Prof. David Dodoo-Arhin, Director, Research and Innovation, welcomed Mr. Tang and the WIPO team, along with officials from the Registrar-General’s Department, Ghana Tertiary Education Council (GTEC,) Center for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), University of Cape Coast (UCC) and University of Development Studies (UDS). He highlighted RID’s mandate in grants management, research ethics, innovation, capacity development, tech transfer, and knowledge dissemination, noting that UG has, over the past decade, built a stronger IP culture through sensitization initiatives and arts-based engagement. He added that UG’s technology transfer officers have developed SOPs and capacity-building programmes to guide UG’s engagement with partners. He expressed the University’s readiness to collaborate with WIPO in refining these tools for broader national use.
In his remarks, Mr. Tang commended Ghana’s growing presence in the global IP ecosystem and reaffirmed WIPO’s commitment to supporting innovation in developing environments. He emphasized that WIPO’s focus goes beyond IP registration to building functional, people-centered innovation systems, strengthening tech-transfer capacity, and connecting local networks to regional and global innovation hubs. He noted ongoing support to several universities in Ghana, including programmes to assess tech-transfer maturity levels, develop KPIs for measuring success, and train administrators and faculty.
The engagement highlighted key priorities, including the need to translate research outputs into business-ready language, increase SME engagement with local innovations, and incorporate innovation-management courses into university curricula. GTEC announced plans to establish an IP desk to support tertiary institutions, while CSIR representatives discussed challenges related to IP protection costs, especially for crop varieties. Participants agreed on the importance of clear career pathways for technology transfer officers to reduce turnover and improve institutional continuity.
The Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research Innovation and Development (acting Vice-Chancellor) Prof. Felix Ankomah Asante, emphasized that senior leadership involvement is crucial for institutional buy-in. He noted ongoing challenges in balancing academic publishing with IP commercialization, especially in a funding environment where nearly all research is donor-sponsored.
The meeting ended with a shared commitment to deepen collaboration between WIPO, the University of Ghana, and national institutions to advance a functional, competitive, and innovation-driven IP ecosystem for the country.
