Makerere University was yet again privileged to host the 78th UN General Assembly President H.E. Dennis Francis, who visited the newly equipped Innovation Pod/Hub to see the ideas that students have turned into innovative products.
H.E. Dennis Francis, on January 20, 2024, challenged innovators to convert their brilliant ideas into meaningful assets, emphasizing that this is what intellectual property is about. “It is about creating value where there was none,” H.E. Dennis said.
Intellectual property, he said, can be traditional knowledge passed on from one generation to another as well as traditional herbs. “Africans are by nature imaginative and creative, so I have no doubt that this center will contribute to not just innovation but to the development of Uganda, Africa, and the global south,” he said.
The Makerere University Innovations Hub, which was recently established with funding from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is set to start driving the commercialization of innovations and enterprises resulting from the research undertaken by scholars and students at Makerere University.
The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, welcomed his H.E. Dennis Francis to Makerere University and expressed optimism that the innovation pod would transform innovators within and outside the university. Prof. Nawangwe welcomed the general public to use the facility, citing the first diesel engine made in Uganda by artisans in Entebbe. He said the artisans worked with the staff of Makerere University on the project.
While welcoming the UN General Assembly President, the UNDP Country Representative, Elsie Attafuah, shared with him some of the developments UNDP has been engaged in, such as the ICT hub in Nakawa, Uganda’s digital transformation road map, as well as other regional initiatives. She hoped the Innovation Pod would facilitate the creation of thousands of startup companies, create jobs and business value, and ensure Africa is more competitive.