In the afternoon of July 14, a two-day International Intellectual Property Forum with the theme of Smart City and Intellectual Property, jointly organized by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and Tongji University, commenced at Tongji University. Before the opening of the Forum, WIPO and Tongji University signed the second phase of the Memorandum of Understanding for the joint training program of Master' s Degree in Intellectual Property Law. Mr. Qun Chen, Vice Mayor of Shanghai Municipal Government, Mr. Jian Liu, Deputy Director General of International Cooperation of CNIPA, Mr. Sherif Saadallah, Executive Director of the WIPO Academy (online), and Mr. Jie Chen, President of Tongji University, attended the signing ceremony and delivered speeches respectively. Mr. Sherif Saadallah and Mr. Chen Jie signed the MOU on behalf of the two parties.

Mr. Yongping Huang, Deputy Secretary General of Shanghai Municipal Government, Mr. Wenbiao Rui, Director of Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration, Mr. Yongzhi Li, Deputy Director of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, Mr. Weidong Shi, Executive Vice President of Shanghai Law Society and Ms. Yuhua Deng, Counselor of WIPO Office in China, were present at the signing ceremony. The signing ceremony was moderated by Mr. Xinghui Lei, Vice President of Tongji University.

On the same day, the graduation ceremony of the SICIP postgraduate students and the fourth course completion ceremony of the WIPO-Tongji Master’s Program in Intellectual Property and Chinese Government “Belt and Road” Master’s Program in Intellectual Property were held.

Mr. Qun Chen said that Shanghai the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee and Shanghai Municipal Government attach great importance to intellectual property, take IP as a strategic pillar to enhance the city’s competitiveness and assign top priority to IP talent development in promoting high-quality development. The WIPO-Tongji MIP Program, as a fundamental outcome of deepened exchanges and cooperation between WIPO and Shanghai, has played a crucial role in accelerating the cultivation of versatile IP practitioners with international mindedness. He hoped that the Shanghai International College of Intellectual Property will take this signing as an opportunity to further deepen the exchanges and collaboration with WIPO and to make continuous and meticulous efforts in IP innovation and practice, and explore new paths and score new achievements in growing top-tier IP talents and building a world-class think tank.

Mr. Jian Liu extended his congratulations to the students of WIPO-Tongji MIP Program and Chinese Government “Belt and Road” Master’s Program in Intellectual Property, who have completed their studies. He said that with the careful organization and thoughtful arrangements of Shanghai International College of Intellectual Property, the international students have overcome all the inconveniences and difficulties and completed the distance learning of the relevant courses in the past year. He hoped that the students continue to pay attention on China, become friendly envoys for exchanges between China and other countries, become strong persons who can overcome all difficulties and become capable in their professional field.

Mr. Sherif Saadallah said that in the past five years since WIPO and Tongji University launched the joint training program for master’s degree in intellectual property, 127 young students from 22 countries have benefited from it. The success of this program is attributed to the strong support of China National Intellectual Property Administration, Shanghai Municipal Government, Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration and Tongji University. With the signing of a new joint training program for Master’s degree, WIPO and Tongji University have entered a new stage in their fruitful cooperation. He believed that this new cooperation will promote the development of IP in China and in the world.

Mr. Jie Chen extended his sincere gratitude to the World Intellectual Property Organization, the China National Intellectual Property Administration and Shanghai Municipal Government for their care, guidance and support of the development of the Shanghai International College of Intellectual Property. He said that the signing of new MOU is an important step to implement the spirit of President Xi Jinping’s important instruction on deep participation in global IP governance under the framework of WIPO and the Memorandum of Understanding on Further Enhancing Collaboration in Intellectual Property between Shanghai Municipal Government and WIPO, and is a recognition of the effective cooperation between WIPO and Tongji University over the past five years in joint training of international high-level IP talents.

In November 2016, WIPO and Tongji University signed the Memorandum of Understanding on the joint training of Master’s program for intellectual property, which is the seventh high-level IP talents training program established by WIPO in the world and the first in China, and an important initiative of WIPO and Shanghai Municipal Government to build a highland for international IP talents. During the implementation of the first program, the faculties of international organizations such WIPO, Mac Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition and other world-renowned universities and institutes were brought together, with “first-class faculty, first-class training program and internship at international organizations”,  to create a new model that is different from the traditional IP talent training. The program has cultivated a group of high-level comprehensive talents who are proficient in intellectual property law and management, capable of international dialogue and competent in international IP affairs. Many graduates are actively participating in the international IP arena.

According to the second MOU, in the five years, WIPO and Tongji University will base on their previous cooperation experience, focus on the challenges posed by the new wave of technological revolution and industrial changes to the IP systems of the world and the countries, and work together to train more high-level international IP talents with cross-disciplinary background and the ability to participate in international IP affairs.