UNIVEN and TIA Host Innovation Challenge Training Workshop

The Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) within the Directorate of Community Engagement, Entrepreneurship Inclusive Innovation and Commercialisation (DCEEIIC) in collaboration with Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), recently hosted the UNIVEN-TIA Innovation Challenge Training Workshop. The workshop took place at the UNIVEN Student Parliament. The aim was to challenge Researchers and Students to produce innovative solutions to existing industry or community challenges and assist in building the Seed Fund pipeline and significantly improve the research quality of applications.

In her opening and welcoming remarks, Ms Fredda Makoto emphasised the critical need to link innovative research with practical solutions that drive economic growth and job creation. Highlighting the potential of lab-based innovations, such as affordable cli-mate and water technologies developed by a Limpopo Province’s postgraduate stu-dent, she stressed the urgency of applying such advancements in real-world settings.
Ms Makoto underlined the threat of food insecurity expected to affect 30% of the glob-al population by 2030, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, reinforcing the need to sup-port high-impact, market-driven projects. The workshop focused on converting ideas into start-ups, protecting Intellectual Property and planning for impact, with participants gain-ing valuable knowledge through engaging discussions and asking insightful questions to ex-perts on stakeholder engagement and commercialisation. Ms Makoto urged attendees to prioritise outcomes that enable broad adoption and practical application of research.
In his presentation on the role of OTT, Dr Mlungiseleli Ganto, UNIVEN’s Intellectual Prop-erty (IP) Policy and the Commercialisation Strategy, explained that the OTT operates un-der the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Act, which mandates institutions to manage, pro-tect, and commercialise publicly funded research. He outlined OTT’s responsibilities, including identifying potentially valuable research, securing appropriate IP protection, and assessing commercial potential. Dr Ganto noted that ideas only become intellectu-al property once developed and stressed the importance of proper disclosure procedures.
He shared that UNIVEN’s first IP policy was approved in 2018, with a revised version current-ly undergoing final approval. The policy defines responsibilities for staff and students, outlines benefit-sharing, and addresses material transfer and commercialisation pathways, among other things. Highlighting challenges such as insufficient technology readiness and limited in-dustry engagement, he mentioned partnerships with institutions like the Central Universi-ty of Technology (CUT) to support product development. Dr Ganto concluded by encourag-ing collaboration and emphasising the need for ongoing IP audits, market analysis, and clear commercialisation strategies to maximise the economic value of university-generated IP.

Ms Omphile Netshiozwi spoke about strategies to strengthen IP protection and mit-igate infringement within the global economy. She stressed that IP only gains val-ue once an idea is developed into a tangible product, technology, or service ap-plicable in the market. Highlighting the global economy’s role, she explained how international collaboration offers access to expertise, resources, and markets often unavail-able locally, citing examples such as lithium battery research and nuclear medicine production.
Mr Thabo Kgole discussed Strategic IP Commercialisation, focusing on unlocking business val-ue from Indigenous knowledge and products. He highlighted challenges Indigenous products face, such as regulatory hurdles and market resistance, particularly from established phar-maceutical companies. Mr Kgole stressed the importance of respecting the spiritual and com-munity origins of Indigenous knowledge, ensuring fair benefit sharing with involved commu-nities. He also pointed out legal gaps, particularly around ownership of Indigenous knowledge when used in university research. He urged early integration of commercialisation strate-gies with IP protection to better bring innovations to market and benefit all stakeholders.

Mr Thabelo Ratshihule emphasised that researchers do not need to leave their laboratories to commercialise their innovations. Instead, by partner-ing with commercially minded co-founders who handle business operations, re-searchers can remain focused on their technical expertise. He noted that many re-searchers are reluctant to engage with commercialisation due to comfort with academic validation and resistance to OTTs, which often push them outside their comfort zones.

Mr. Ratshihule introduced the WCAG problem, highlighting the complexity of entrepreneurial challenges and the need to distinguish between users and paying
customers. He stressed the importance of engaging communities to understand their needs and create value propositions that address both groups.
He cautioned against “organic engineering without market input,” where features are added without market demand, leading to unwanted solutions. Ratshihule also pointed out that while Africa has abundant technical talent, there is of-ten a lack of deep problem understanding. He called for funding to support problem analysis before solution development and criticised the “competition mindset,” where innova-tors depend heavily on grants without viable commercial plans, hindering sustainable funding.

Mr Phindile Tshabangu spoke on the critical role universities play in supporting en-trepreneurship, start-ups, and commercialisation. Drawing on his chemical engineer-ing and corporate research background, he highlighted how TuksNovation, structured as a non-profit independent of the university, bridges the gap between academic ideas and market-ready ventures. The organisation supports research-based innovations, stu-dent-led ideas, and external technical concepts, using practical tools like the Business Mod-el Canvas, pitch decks, and Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) to guide development. Em-phasising collaboration with government departments, private investors, and venture funds, Mr Tshabangu noted that real impact comes not from winning competitions, but from providing sustained, structured support to transform ideas into viable businesses.

Day two of the training workshop began with an insightful recap of the pre-vious day by Prof Vhonani Netshandama afforded participants an opportuni-ty to share what they had learned and what they still wished to explore. Partici-pants reflected on their experiences and expressed strong interest in business development, Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS), Technology Transfer and commercialisation.

Mr Dembe Nenzhelele presented on innovation funding, stressing the importance of understanding priority sectors and how to access support effectively. He shared the story of Rebecca Stuart, a biology student turned award-winning author after un-covering the unethical use of HeLa cells, highlighting how curiosity can lead to im-pactful innovation. Mr Nenzhelele encouraged students to combine scientific knowl-edge with business skills and collaborate with others to develop practical solutions.

Ms Thuthukile Mthethwa’s presentation focused on the role of universities in support-ing grassroots innovation and commercialisation of research. She emphasised the im-portance of identifying real-world challenges within communities and developing practi-cal solutions. Her talk outlined key sectors such as ICT, Indigenous knowledge, industrial biotechnology, and natural resources, explaining how innovations progress through Tech-nology Readiness Levels (TRLs) towards market readiness. She detailed funding opportuni-ties through TIA, including grants, loans, and equity investments. Ms Mthethwa stressed the importance of IP ownership, strong collaboration, proper planning, and financial account-ability, warning against fund mismanagement and urging innovators to build reliable teams.

Ms Tshembani Khupane presented pitch tips, covering how to effectively assess and validate the market for an innovation. She highlighted the importance of understanding the problem’s scale, target audience, and competitive advantage, as well as communicating the development stage and team expertise. When requesting funding or support, she advised being realistic, de-tailed, and phased in the use of funds. Pitches should be concise and well-prepared to handle questions. She also addressed communication challenges within the competition, encouraging improved information sharing and solution-focused approaches to engage all students fairly.
The final day concluded with volunteers presenting their pitch work for evaluation, round-ing off a workshop marked by lively discussions and active participant engagement, where at-tendees gained valuable insights through thoughtful questions and collaborative dialogue.

Issued by:
Department of Marketing, Branding and Communication University of Venda
Tel: 082 868 2218 / 082 868 1811