African nations, like those worldwide, can reap great reward from the development of sound intellectual Property systems. An important way to achieve that goal is to invest in young people by educating them about intellectual Property and equipping them with the intellectual Property skills needed to allow everyone to benefit from their innovative works.

AIIPITT brings the initiative, drive, and tools that Africa is seeking, and I hope that this initiative will affect positively the innovation sector in Africa. It deserves wide support.

María Fernanda started her career at Baker & Mc Kenzie in Colombia supporting the regulatory agenda of the firm with the national regulatory authority. Later on, joined the Colombian Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, leading the closing of the negotiations of the intellectual property chapter on the Colombia Free Trade Agreement with the United States. Also worked for Novartis as Director of Corporate Affairs for Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. She served recently as the Director of International Policy and Operations for the Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries in LATAM - FIFARMA.

She is convinced about the impact of intellectual property in people’s lives and its capacity for making of this the world a better place, inspiring, and creating a future of thrilling possibilities.

She later served as a Senior Market Development Specialist at the Zambia Development Agency where she played a pivotal role in enhancing regional trade and Sustainable development. Furthermore, she also previously worked on projects such as the European Union Mining Sector Diversification Programme, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation Trade Capacity Building Framework Programme and the World Bank Governance Partnership Facility Programme in Zambia and Uganda.

Caroline holds a Master of Science degree in Sustainable Development from the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies, a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Namibia, and a Diploma in Environmental Management from Maastricht School of Management in the Netherlands.

Karla’s experience spans over two decades and across industries, from technology to professional services. She spent the first chapter of her career successfully in the consulting business coaching bothbusiness and public sectors in intercultural competence. She then pivoted and led AMER operations teams in a Fortune 500 technology firm in the US, and later advised in a Ventures Accelerator on issues relating to knowledge management in Sweden. Now she heads the operations of the Center for Intellectual Property, Sweden and teaches Master's students about digital platform business models.

She has a proven record of accomplishment of implementing strategies that drive positive top-line and bottom-line results. She is known for her love and commitment to driving tremendous impact that focuses on creating win-win situations. Her leadership style inspires and guides teams to embrace and execute a vision that yields sustainable benefits. Her unwavering commitment to innovation results in offerings that solve industry-wide challenges.

Karla’s educational background includes business, legal studies, political science, public policy, industrial engineering, and intellectual capital management. Therefore, Karla’s approach to intellectual assets is strategic, in the intersection between law and business.

As an academician, he is a law Lecturer in the school of Law at the University of Rwanda and National Police College (NPC) where he teaches different courses such as Arbitration Law, Private International Law and Torts Law; and a part-time trainer at the Institute of Legal Practice and Development (ILPD).

As a researcher, In October 2015, he was appointed by the Government of Rwanda to be a member of the Special Commission that reviewed the Constitution Of the Republic Rwanda of 2003. Also, he research and release different articles on different legal issues.

As a legal practitioner, He is the Co- founding Partner of Attorneys House and Accredited Court Mediator by the Supreme Court of Rwanda. He is Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, UK and a practicing member of Rwanda Bar Association and the East Africa Law Society.

Emmanuel holds: • A Master’s Degree (LL.M) in International Business and Commercial Law, from University of Manchester, England. • A Post Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (DLP), from the Institute of Legal Practice and Development (ILPD). • Bachelor’s Degree (LL.B) in Law with First Class, from the University of Rwanda. • He is a PhD candidate at VU Amsterdam University; his PhD Thesis is on “The role of Creditors in Corporate Bankruptcy Restructuring”.

She has contributed to the National Innovation Initiative as a legal expert and attended various workshops, seminars etc., both explaining the Intellectual Property system and helping to better shape it. She has served as the President of the Jury of the first Istanbul International Inventions Fair in 2016 and has been on the Board since then. She set up the first technology transfer Office in the Western Meditteranean region at Akdeniz University and managed it for four years, during which the institution contributed considerably to the development of the innovative enterpreneurship climate in this region. She has facilitated the commercialisation of various technologies developed at her University.

She has also been invited to serve as a member on the Economic and Scientific Advisory Board established by the European Patent Office, a post she held between 2013-2016, until the Board was dissolved. She also served on the international jury of the 2015 European Patent Awards held by EPO. She has also taught the Intellectual Property Commercialisation course for four years between 2017-2020 at the Intellectual Property LLM Programme administered jointly by WIPO, Ankara University and TURKPATENT. She has a number of publications on Intellectual Property law and policy, including those in prestigious international journals. She’s still actively involved in Intellectual Property commercialisation projects where she provides guidance on Intellectual Property knowledge and related contractual and corporate issues.

Intellectual Property theory and practice is a passion for Prof. Boztosun who believes that a well- designed and well-implemented Intellectual Property regime may affect the future of a country; in fact, of a whole continent in the case of AIIPITT.

Apart from being the founder and Executive Director of AIIPITT, he is the Executive Board Member at Global Intellectual Property Alliance (GLIPA) and Co-Chair for African region. GLIPA is an international no-profit organization formed as network of networks dedicated to empower Intellectual Property to advance global communities with Headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

He is the former Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Officer at Rwanda Development Board (National IP Office). His main mandate was to handle issues/cases arising from Intellectual Property Right including but not limited to the “Oppositions for the registration of intellectual properties and other IP disputes.”

Bertin is a WIPO Scholar as after quitting his fulltime job at RDB, the World Intellectual Property Organisation awarded him a scholarship to pursue a Master’s degree in Intellectual Property Law and Innovation Policy Development at Korea Development Institute (KDI School), South Korea. In addition to that, he holds a bachelor degree of Laws (LLB) from the School of Law, University of Rwanda.

His experience and academic achievements in the areas of intellectual property and technology transfer qualify him to understand and champion the context of Rwandan and regional Intellectual Property System and African Technology Landscape as well.

As a researcher, Paul frequently encounters intellectual property matters within the context of university research. This includes dealing with copyrights from various peer-reviewed publications as well as working on patentable research projects. He firmly believes in sharing his experiences with fellow researchers in Rwanda and across Africa to help them understand and take ownership of their rights regarding their own work. This can be achieved through intellectual property education.

In addition to his Ph.D. studies, Paul holds a Bachelor of Science in Physics and Computer Science from the University of Central Arkansas. He has served in leadership roles in various student organizations during his undergraduate and graduate studies. Currently, he serves as the Physics Department Senator in the Graduate Student Government.