In the afternoon of July 7, the 2022 Graduation and Degree Awarding Ceremony of the Shanghai International College of Intellectual Property (SICIP) and the Fifth Closing Ceremony for the First Phase of the WIPO-Tongji Master’s Degree Program in Intellectual Property (MIP) and the Chinese Government "Belt and Road" Scholarship MIP Program were held at Tongji University. Mr. BAI Guangqing, Director-General of the International Cooperation Department of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), Mr. Joe Bradley, Head of Academic Institutions Program of WIPO Academy, Ms. MAO Lijuan, Deputy Director-General of the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, Mr. YU Chen, Deputy Director-General of the Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration, Mr. LV Peiming, Executive Vice President of Tongji University, Ms. DENG Yuhua, Counselor of WIPO Office in China, Mr. SHU Jinlong, Director of the Higher Education Department of the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission and Director of Shanghai Degree Office, Prof. SONG Xiaoting, the Chairman of the SICIP Council, Associate Prof. YU Xinmiao, Executive Vice Dean of the SICIP, and all faculty members of the SICIP as well as nearly 100 graduates, students of international program courses and their families, attended the ceremony. The ceremony was moderated by Associate Prof. JIANG Nan, Vice Dean of the SICIP, and was held in the form of combining online and offline.

Mr. BAI Guangqing, Director-General of International Cooperation Department of the CNIPA

Mr. BAI Guangqing congratulated the students on their successful completion of studies during the special period of the pandemic, and expressed his gratitude to Tongji University, and all faculties in the SICIP for their hard work. He hoped that students could keep attention to the development of IP system, strengthen the communication with their counterparts in China and abroad, so as to contribute to the common efforts of all mankind to overcome the epidemic, revitalize the economy and achieve sustainable development.

Mr. Joe Bradley, Head of Academic Institutions Program of WIPO Academy

Mr. Joe Bradley thanked the CNIPA, the Ministry of Education, the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government and the Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration for their strong support of the program. He congratulated to all students on their graduation, and expressed his expectation that they could share their harvest and insights learning from the program to contribute to regional, national and global intellectual property and economic development.

Ms. MAO Lijuan, Deputy Director-General of the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission

Ms. MAO Lijuan offered her heartfelt congratulations to students who have completed the program, and expressed that the SICIP has provided so many competent talents to support the IP business in China and countries of the “Belt and Road” initiative, the deepening of international cooperation and the continuous improvement of the socio-economic environment. The Shanghai Municipal Education Commission would continue paying attention and support.

Mr. YU Chen, Deputy Director-General of the Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration

Mr. YU Chen appreciated for the SICIP’s contribution on the cultivation of internationalized and comprehensive intellectual property talents, who are the key to promote the international exchanges and cooperation in the field of IP. He expected that the students could take graduation and the completion of the program course as a new starting point to make new achievements and contributions in serving Shanghai, the whole country and even the international development of intellectual property.

Mr. LV Peiming, Executive Chairman of University Council and Executive Vice President of Tongji University

Mr. LV Peiming expressed that in the past five years, the SICIP conducted a new chapter in the cooperation and development of intellectual property talents training. Graduates should take up the responsibility and mission of national development with Tongji University's patriotism. He encouraged the students to pursue lifelong learning and pragmatism, to be open-minded, and to contribute to the development of global intellectual property industry.

Ms. HUO Chen, Graduate Representative of Year 2019 (WIPO MIP in Design)

Ms. Katsiaryna Nestserava, Student Representative of Year 2021 (Chinese Government Scholarship Program)

Mr. Ulaganathan Chokkalingam, Student Representative of Year 2021 (WIPO MIP in Industrial Property)

The student representatives thanked WIPO, the CNIPA, the Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration, the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, Tongji University and the SICIP for the learning opportunity and platform, as well as for their dedicated organization and wholehearted support during the pandemic. It was a pleasure to exchange and learn from experts, scholars and students from all over the world. In the future, the graduates and students will work harder to engage in learning and practice, and promote IP cooperation and exchange among countries.

Prof. SHAN Xiaoguang announced the list of graduation certificates and course completion certificates

Associate Prof. YU Xinmiao turned the tassel for the graduates

In 2022, the SICIP had 55 graduates, including 11 international students. Besides, there are 41 students from the WIPO-Tongji MIP Program and the "Belt and Road" MIP Program who have successfully completed the first phase of their training programs in English, and were awarded the course certificates of the WIPO-Tongji MIP Program and the "Belt and Road" MIP Program, respectively. As international talents with global vision, knowledge of international rules and capability to participate in international affairs, the graduates of the SICIP are going to play an important role in IP-related positions all over the world and become the building force of international IP development. Among them, Moshin Ali, a graduate of the 2019 WIPO-Tongji MIP Program, was selected to serve as an Intellectual Property Training Institute (IPTI) in the Young Experts Program (YEP) launched by the WIPO headquarters. 11 young experts from around the world were selected by WIPO from 193 member states to help build innovation ecosystems worldwide. Being selected as a Young Expert is a great achievement and honor not only for Ali, but also for his home country of Pakistan and Tongji University. Until now, 4 SICIP graduates have been working in the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, the International Patent Department and other departments of WIPO.

Group photo of the distinguished guests and participants

On November 16, 2016, the United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and Tongji University officially signed an agreement on WIPO-Tongji MIP Program in Intellectual Property Law (WIPO Program), making Tongji University the first and currently the only university in China to cooperate with WIPO in the form of joint training master's program. The program is undertaken by SICIP. After nearly six years of development, the WIPO program has trained a number of international high-level intellectual property talents, and in 2021, the updated edition of Memorandum of Understanding for the WIPO-Tongji MIP Program in Intellectual Property Law was successfully signed. SICIP has focused on the cultivation of international high-level talents, innovated the construction of intellectual property disciplines, carried out in-depth international exchanges, and actively played the role of a think tank with remarkable results. In particular, SICIP has made remarkable achievements in the strategy of building up an intellectual property (IP) strength, the cooperation with WIPO and "Belt and Road" Master's Degree Program in Intellectual Property. SICIP will continue to take advantage of its international characteristics and cross-discipline advantages, innovate the mode of school operation, accelerate the cultivation of high-level intellectual property talents, and further expand the cooperation and exchange in the field of intellectual property with countries and regions with advantages in intellectual property development, “Belt and Road” cooperation countries and relevant international organizations.