ENGLISH STUDY JOINT WIPO ACADEMY MASTER PROGRAM “INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER” in cooperation with European Patent Office
Form of study: full-time
Duration of study: 2 semesters, winter and summer semester admission only for non-specialists
Director: Prof. Vladia Borisova, PhD
E-mail: v.borisova@feb.uni-sofia.bg
For admission to the Master's program, you must apply with a document of completion of the bachelor’s or master’s degree and an oral interview with a committee. The score is formed by the average grade in the diploma, the success in the state exam (thesis defense) and the interview grade, which is a “yes” and “no”. A “yes” grade equates to (6.00) and a “no” grade equates to (2.00), and the candidate is dropped from the ranking. The maximum possible score for admission to the program is 18.
The training is only in English. No document is required, but an objective prerequisite for applying and successfully studying at the IPT is fluency in English (minimum level B2 of the European Framework of Reference for Languages).
Curriculum for the academic year 2023/2024
Tuition fees in Sofia University for the academic 2023 / 2024 year
Candidates for admission for the academic year 2023/2024 can submit their documents via the platform https://feba.kmk.uni-sofia.bg as follows:
- First stage – from 1 to 19 July 2023
- Second stage – from 25 July to 10 September 2023
- Third stage – from 16 to 26 September 2023
The Interviews for admission to the Master programme will take place online at 18:30 on the Teams platform at the following link: https://bit.ly/3ku4uiM, respectively, at:
- For the first stage – on 21 July 2023 (Friday)
- For the second stage – on 15 September 2023 (Friday)
- For the third stage – on 29 September 2023 (Friday)
The program follows the classical approach of MBA program, where the training is based on the diverse life and practical experience of the trainees. During the program, the students will have the opportunity to listen to guest lectures, participate in seminars, discussions, and workshops, and solve cases, led by specialists and experts in the field of intellectual property from the European Patent Office and other European and International institutions.
The program allows for training of EU citizens and other candidates from worldwide. It offers a multicultural environment for teaching and learning, and its lecturers are academics and specialists, experts from Bulgaria, European Patent Office and other EU and international institutions including such from precedent system. Especially in the Master's programme there will be lecturers from the Centre for International Intellectual Property Studies, such as Prof. Yann Bazire and prof. Alexander Wurzer and others. Successful graduates receive an EU diploma from the University including a certificate of completion from the European Patent Office.
The program includes a diverse range of courses in the field of intellectual property at European and international level with additional knowledge of the precedent system. It also provides topics that include the economic benefits of patent ownership, innovation, technology transfer, IP management, licensing, commercialization, trademarks and designs protection, entrepreneurship, unfair competition and know-how and trade secrets, copyright in the digital environment, and artificial intelligence.
Trainees have the opportunity to participate for a period of 1 year in an internship program (Pan-European Seal Program) at the European Patent Office (EPO) or the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), which also provides the opportunity for future professional realization in European Institutions.
Graduates of the Master's Degree in Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer with the qualification “MANAGER OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER”.
The Master program is suitable for:
- bachelors with economic, legal and technical education;
- professionals from practice (business, public administration, non-profit organizations);
- entrepreneurs and consultants;
- academics and researchers.
Eligibility:
- have a basic management, economic or legal education, or have acquired a degree in the natural and technical sciences;
- have completed a 4-year training course and have completed 240 credits;
- have a minimum grade point average in their undergraduate studies.
The program provides training for highly qualified professionals who:
- are proficient in modern methods and tools for identification, protection, and management of intellectual property;
- are familiar with industrial property objects such as inventions, utility models, integrated circuits, and know-how relevant to technological development and innovation, as well as trademarks, industrial designs and geographical indications, objects of priority marketing importance;
- know the means of obtaining protection and management for the purposes of technology transfer and commercialization of intellectual property objects, and the means of protecting industrial property objects;
- know the principles of copyright protection and management and its importance for the functioning of the industrial property system.
The acquired knowledge is applicable in different economic sectors – in the part of innovation activity and in the part of marketing products that are based on intellectual property and the activity of creative industries.
The professional realization of the successful graduates of the Master's program is in different positions such as:
- Experts and managers in government bodies - EU institutions, National Patent Offices, etc;
- Employees and managers in research institutes, business centers, technology, and business parks;
- Employees and executives in the company departments of innovation, scientific and technical information, development, etc.;
- Experts and consultants in international intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations (European Patent Office; European Union Intellectual Property Office; World Intellectual Property Organization; World Trade Organization, etc.);
- Intellectual property consultants and agents; employees of law firms, companies, and offices active in the field of intellectual property protection and defense, etc.