The Copperbelt University(CBU), School of Information and Communications Technology (SICT) Lecturer, Professor Jameson Mbale has urged universities in the country to make use of their research outputs by turning them into commercial value.
Professor Mbale said universities should not conduct research for the sake of it alone, but must have units that evaluate whether research has commercial potential.
In an interview with Lusaka Star during the ICT Association of Zambia (ICTAZ) Day One Conference at the University of Zambia (UNZA), Professor Mbale noted that if universities actualize this, they will be on the right path toward commercialisation.
“But here’s the problem, students undertake research projects every year. After completing them, what happens? Nothing. They are shelved, gathering dust in libraries or offices,” Professor Mbale, who is also the ICTAZ Conference Chairperson, said.
“Are these research reports useless? No, they are not. The issue is that we have not developed a culture of turning research outputs into prototypes, and then into commercial products.”
He stressed the need to establish structures such as Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs) in universities to help identify which research can be commercialized and which cannot.
“They guide researchers on protecting their work, building prototypes, and avoiding premature disclosure in the public domain. Without such structures, research remains unprotected and is never developed into commercial products,” Prof. Mbale said.
“We then began establishing linkages with the industry. The industry can now help you develop it further and move it forward. From there, you can build something concrete.”
He also called on primary and secondary schools not to ignore good ideas and innovations from pupils, but to nurture and support them at an early stage.
“When you have a concept and you are developing it, protect it first before taking it to a trade fair or an agricultural show,” Prof. Mbale advised.
“And ensure that you have secured intellectual property rights such as patents, copyrights, or other forms of IP protection. Only after protecting it should you place it in the public domain, because then you own it.”