APPLY: WIPO National IP Essay Competition 2023

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Nigeria Office welcomes participation of all students of tertiary institutions across Nigeria in the 2023 National IP Essay Competition on the topic “Gender Inclusivity as a Strategy to Drive Innovation and Creativity in Nigeria”

Participation in this competition will provide students with an excellent opportunity to research and learn more about the field of intellectual property, as they explore policy ideas along the lines of this year’s theme for driving the increased participation of women in Nigeria’s innovation and creativity landscape.

Background

Every April 26, WIPO celebrates the World Intellectual Property (IP) Day to learn more about the role that IP rights play in encouraging innovation and creativity. This year’s theme is “Women and IP: Accelerating Innovation and Creativity” puts the spotlight on the role that women play in driving innovation and creativity. It reflects on the challenges that women face in accessing the knowledge, skills, resources and support they need to thrive, and celebrates the can-do attitude of women, inventors, creators and entrepreneurs around the world and their groundbreaking work.

Essay topic

WIPO is keen to provoke imagination and creativity in thinking through what increased participation of women in the IP system in Nigeria will mean for Nigeria’s development and the future of creativity and innovation in Nigeria.

In line with the theme of the day, essay entries should address the topic: Gender inclusivity as a strategy to drive innovation and creativity in Nigeria.

Entries may focus on answering the following questions:

• What are some of the current challenges faced by female artists, creatives, inventors and entrepreneurs in using the IP system, and how can these be surmounted?

• How can women be encouraged to use the IP system, and what overall possibilities and/or benefits exist for Nigeria in a gender-parity IP future?

• What developmental benefits can be achieved if more women are involved in the business of innovation and creativity in the country?

• What policy recommendations could support gender inclusivity in the areas of innovation and creativity in Nigeria?

Essay entries will be assessed for factual accuracy, imagination, originality, creative and innovative thought, by an independent expert Panel of Judges drawn from leading IP practitioners and entrepreneurs, academics, policy experts, scholars and regulators across the country. 

Eligibility criteria

• Entries are welcome from all registered students (undergraduate and postgraduate) of tertiary institutions in Nigeria: universities, colleges of education, polytechnics, as well as professional or vocational institutions.

Entry requirements:

• The essay must be written in English.

• Essay entries should not exceed 1,500 words (bibliography and references are excluded from the word count).

• Entries should be prepared in font 12 Arial (Black), with double line spacing and pages numbered.

• Entries should be submitted in both Word and .pdf format.

• Entries must not include any pictures or other graphical illustrations.

• Entries must not contain any indication as to the name, school, number, email address or other means of identification or affiliation of its author and/or any other person.

• Plagiarism of any sort will result in disqualification.

• AI generated works are not eligible for submission, and will be disqualified.

• Submissions received after the announced deadline will not be considered.

• A valid student ID card or proof of enrollment will be required when submitting.

What the judges will look out for include:

• Originality

• Structural flow, clarity of thought and expression, grammatical accuracy and coherence

• Relevance to the field of intellectual property (IP)

• Relevance to national, regional and/or international context

• Policy suggestions, proposals and/or pathways

How to submit and submission deadline

All entries should be made to the email: nigeria.office@wipo.int, with the subject title of the email in the format: initial.surname_WIPD23 Essay Competition (for example, G.Nduka_WIPD23 Essay Competition).

All entries must be submitted on or before March 31, 2023. Winners of the competition will be announced in April 2023.

Prizes up for grabs

• A scholarship spot on WIPO’s Advanced International Certificate Course on IP Management.

• Scholarship spots on the WIPO Summer School in South Africa.

• Scholarship spots on the WIPO Summer School in Nigeria.

• Top three essays will be submitted to WIPO for possible publication in the WIPO Magazine, subject to WIPO publication schedule and review.

Authors of the top 15 essays will receive:

• WIPO Certificates of Achievement

• Invitation to participate in a National Intellectual Property Study

• Tour of IP institutions facilitated by the WIPO Nigeria Office

• Scholarships to undertake any of the WIPO Distance Learning (DL) courses

• Scholarship spots on the Africa Regional edition of the Young Innovation Leaders Fellowship (organized in collaboration with WIPO).

• Several other exciting IP learning and professional capacity-building  prizes will be won!