The ACP-Edulink project IP4GROWTH organised its third and final training module on Intellectual Property protection related to agricultural products in Thiès, Senegal, between 15^th and 17^th September 2015 at the UFR des Sciences de la Santé on the Université de Thiès campus in Thiès, Senegal.  There were over 20 participants from IP4GROWTH partners Queen Mary University London (UK), University of Alicante (Spain), CIRES (Ivory Coast), Université Ouaga 2 (Burkina Faso), Université de Thiès (Sénégal) and OAPI.

The 3-day training module was officially inaugurated by Professor Matar Mour Seck, Rector of the University of Thiès, accompanied by the Vice Rector and Director of the UFR des Sciences de la Santé Prof. Mourtalla Ka and the Director of ISFAR Dr. Mouhamed Camara, as well as by Cristina Beans, coordinator of IP4GROWTH from the University of Alicante.

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The training module, with talks by professors Guido Westkamp, Uma Suthersanen and Graham Dutfield from Queen Mary University London covered specific aspects of farmers, seeds and innovation; distribution and exhaustion of rights; fashion; IP licensing and technology transfer at universities; marketing of IP and economics of IP and flexibilities. M. Michel Gonomy from OAPI discussed the use of Geographic Indications in the preservation of traditional knowledge in the OAPI member states. 

Participants from Université Ouaga2 in Burkina Faso and the CIRES at Université Félix Houphouët Boigny in Ivory Coast.

Participants from Université de Thiès in Senegal and representatives of the OAPI in Cameroon.

A general revision of IP was also presented, discussing the topics presented in the previous two training modules, with a practical session in which the participants discussed the situation in their own countries. Furthermore a roundtable discussion was held, with the participation of all three trainers from Queen Mary, and M. Gonomy and Mme Ngo Mbaga from OAPI.

At the end of the training module a half-day project meeting was held to discuss the project’s next activities, in particular the organisation of Local Actions for Farming Communities in which the ACP partners will be raising the awareness of local communities on the topic of Geographic Indications and how they can be of use to them.

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The IP4GROWTH partner participants will soon be replicating this training in each of their own universities, to which event members of other institutions in their country will be invited.