WIPO Launches Cyber-Learning Course in Arabic
Geneva, September 25, 2003
Press Updates UPD/2003/204
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has extended access to its flagship distance learning course on intellectual property to Arabic-speaking students. The course is currently available in Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.
The distance learning program is part of WIPO's efforts to create broader awareness of intellectual property by making it more accessible to students who are not necessarily specializing in this field. "Distance should not be an obstruction to instruction. The WIPO Worldwide Academy's distance learning initiative provides a chance for students anywhere in the world to learn about the basics of intellectual property," said WIPO Director General Dr. Kamil Idris said.
This innovative on-line intellectual property teaching technique, which is in its fifth year, has enabled some 20,000 students from 179 countries to learn about copyright and related rights, patents, trademarks, geographical indications, industrial designs, WIPO-administered international registration systems, unfair competition and the protection of plant varieties. It has brought teachers specializing in intellectual property issues closer to students and other interested parties in all corners of the world through virtual means.
The distance learning initiative takes full advantage of information technology and the Internet as an alternative to traditional training programs. It offers new teaching methodologies, customized course materials, evaluation tools, and mechanisms for tutor-student interaction. The "General Course on Intellectual Property" takes about 50 hours of study time spanning a six week period. It includes self-assessment questions, tests, a glossary with links to the 23 WIPO-administered treaties and a full range of other intellectual property information materials. Students who successfully complete the course are awarded a WIPO certificate.
The next session of the course will run from October 1 to November 15 2003. Regular sessions are held twice a year and registrations are made directly online at the Academy website http://academy.wipo.int.
In recent years the course has been integrated in the official academic curriculum of a number of universities, including in Chile, Italy, Slovenia, and Uruguay. Translation of the general course into a range of other languages, including Ukranian, Bulgarian and Hindi is also planned.
The WIPO Worldwide Academy was founded in March 1998 to assist member states attain specialized knowledge and skills to enable them to derive full benefit from the intellectual property system. Although WIPO has always provided assistance and training to its member states in the use of intellectual property, the Academy was created for the specific purpose of consolidating training and human resource development activities under a central coordinating mechanism.
For further information, please contact the Media Relations and Public Affairs Section at WIPO:
- Tel: (+41 22) 338 81 61 or (+41 22) 338 95 47;
- E-mail: publicinf@wipo.int
- Fax: (+41 22) 338 88 10.