The year 2003 marked the beginning of intellectual property education and research at Tongji University, with the foundation of the Tongji IP Institute in close cooperation with the Max-Plank Institute for Innovation and Competition in Munich. Due to Tongji University´s strength in the disciplines of science and engineering and its long-standing cooperation with Germany, the IP Institute excelled in cross-cutting research and the cultivation of cross-disciplinarily educated intellectual property talents. In 2016, the Shanghai Municipal Government transformed the former IP Institute into the Shanghai International College of Intellectual Property (SICIP), with support from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA). Over the past 20 years, IP research and education at Tongji University have developed distinctive characteristics in terms of internationalization and interdisciplinarity, which are broadly recognized in China and abroad.

On October 13 – 14, 2023, SICIP will host the 5th Workshop on China-EU Innovation and Competition as one of the highlights of its 20th anniversary celebrations, and we cordially invite you to celebrate with us. The focus of the workshop will be on information technology related challenges for IP, competition law and innovation management, including artificial intelligence, big data, smart medicines, etc. It will emphasize internationally debated issues such as the growing conflict between different national policies and the lack of international harmonization in the field of data protection and data security, which are still subject matter of national legislation and can therefore become a formidable obstacle to international scientific research cooperation and cross-border business operations.