Twelve local academics who obtained patents for their discoveries over the past year have been honoured by the University of Malta.
University rector Alfred Vella presented each of the researchers with a patent grant certificate in a ceremony held on April 26, to mark World Intellectual Property Day.
The 12 inventors filed patents in sectors ranging from engineering to science, the built environment, medical and biomedical technologies, with patent protection obtained for regions across the world, from the EU to China, the USA, Brazil, Japan and Canada.
Patents were filed in the period from January 2020 to the present date.
The principal investigators of the patented inventions are:
- Prof. Ing David Zammit Mangion
- Dr Ing. Marc Anthony Azzopardi
- Dr David C. Magri
- Prof. Ing. Philip Farrugia
- Prof. Giuseppe Di Giovanni
- Prof. Ing Jonathan Borg
- Dr Christian Camenzuli
- Prof. Joseph N. Grima
- Prof. Kristian Zarb Adami
- Prof. Spiridione Buhagiar
- Prof. Tonio Sant
- Prof. Vincent M. Buhagiar
Patents provide inventors or licencees with exclusivity rights over an invention for a 20-year period. The University of Malta helps researchers who wish to obtain patents for their discoveries through its Knowledge Transfer Office
Prof. Vella congratulated the inventors, and said he hoped that they would serve as an inspiration to other researchers. Hopefully there would be more inventions worthy of a patent granted certificate next year, he added.
Pro-Rector for research and knowledge transfer Saviour Zammit said each of the inventions being celebrated had undergone a rigorous examination process to establish their novelty and originality.
Their collective effect on the quality of academic research is something the entire University community should be proud of, Prof. Zammit said.
Knowledge Transfer Office manager András Havasi noted that patents are relatively new to the University of Malta, given that the first patent application by the University was filed 17 years ago - less than a patent’s maximum lifetime.
Havasi urged any other researchers who wish to engage in knowledge transfer activities to contact the Knowledge Transfer Office.