World IP Day 2022 - Celebrating the Creativity, Enterprise and Innovation of the Young People of Wales

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Jane Lambert

Today is World Intellectual Property Day.  Intellectual property is the collective name for the bundle of rights such as patents, trade marks, copyrights and registered designs that protect investment in brands, designs, technology and works of art and literature,  World Intellectual Property Day is an international festival that falls on 26 April of every year.  It marks the anniversary of the entry into force of the treaty that established the World Intellectual Property Organization, the UN specialist agency that coordinates international efforts to encourage, incentivize and reward artists, authors, broadcasters, designers, entrepreneurs, inventors, publishers and others. 

Every year World Intellectual Property Day focuses on a different theme.  This year it is "IP and Youth: Innovating for a Better Future."   The Menai Science Park ("M-SParc") on Anglesey has interpreted that theme as an invitation to celebrate the creativity, enterprise and innovation of the young people of Wales.  

In World IP Day: Celebrating the Creativity of the Young People of Wales I discussed how the super-talented young dancers of Wales's national ballet company will celebrate their creativity.   In It is About Rocket Science I wrote about Wales's expanding space industry and the massive opportunities open to talented young people as Spaceport Snowdonia develops a commercial satellite launch capability with its elegant new technology.  

Of course, none of this would be possible without entrepreneurs.  To celebrate Welsh enterprise we have invited Tom Burke, co-founder and CEO of Haia to talk about how his company and its meetings platform. He has already made a video for the Level Up Accelerator. 

M-SParc's main celebrations will be a webinar which I shall chair between 12:30 and 14:00 today.  Our speakers will include Nia Roberts, David Young of Spaceport Snowdonia, Tom Burke of Haia and Darius James of Ballet Cymru and his brilliant young artists.   There is still space on the call for those who want to attend it.   All you have to do is click the green button on the Eventbrite page and Emily Roberts or Jamie Thomas will send you a link,

 

It is about Rocket Science

Author NASA  Rocket suspended from a balloon Public domain

 

Jane Lambert

In Celebrating Tecwyn Roberts I wrote how a young school student had been inspired to study natural sciences by the visit of Tecwyn Roberts to her junior school. That student was Nia Roberts and she will be one of the speakers at the Menai Science Park's World Intellectual Property Day celebrations for which you can register here.

Nia, like Tecwyn, left Wales to pursue a career in science.  She went to Munich where she was an examiner for the European Patent Office. Children at the school where Tecwyn and Nia studied now have a choice.  They can study and carry out research at the world's great universities or work for the world's leading companies and institutions or they can set up successful science-based businesses or find high-skilled and well-paid employment in their own country.

According to the UK Space Agency's press release of 13 April 2022, employment in the British space industry grew from 44,040 in 2019 to 46,995 in 2020.  It is now a £16.5 billion industry.  Employment in the sector more than doubled in Wales from 415 to 1,109.  British expertise in space lies primarily in the design and operation of small, low earth orbit satellites. They are used for weather forecasting, remote sensing, communications and many other applications.

Until now, British satellite owners have had to rely on the US and other foreign governments to launch their equipment into orbit but that is about to change.  As I said in The Space Industry in Wales. legislation was enacted in 2018 to enable space vehicles to be launched from the UK.  The UK Space Agency has recently published Launch UK, A Guide to the UK's Commercial Spaceports which lists the UK's launch facilities.

One of those sites is Spaceport Snowdonia which is based at Llanbedr near Harlech,  We are very lucky to welcome Mr David Young who is the manager of the aerospace centre and Llanbedr airport.  There are three competing technologies to propel a rocket into space: a multistage solid or liquid fuel rocket which is the Scottish approach; using an aeroplane to lift the rocket into high altitude which is the Cornish approach or strapping the rocket to a balloon which is the elegant, Welsh approach.  David will discuss all the facilities that are available at Llanbedr and what it needs to grab a lion's share of the launch technology market.

Tuesday's celebrations will be a webinar between 12:30 and 14:00 at which Nia and David will speak. There will also be an all-day exhibition in the science park to celebrate the creativity, enterprise and innovation of the young people of Wales.