[Guest Post] Introduction to the IP Education Series

The IPKat is excited to welcome the following series of blog posts on IP Education initiatives. We’re kicking off the series with an introduction from Ruth Soetendorp, providing a flavour of the upcoming posts and where we’re looking for your participation and feedback. Without further ado, it’s over to Ruth:

“Over the next few months, IP Education specialists have been invited by the Kats to share IP education wit and wisdom. There will be a short series of posts, which I’m looking forward to curating and presenting, by innovative IP Educators, and YOU. Especially if you have something to share that has worked when teaching IP (or lessons learnt from something that hasn’t!)

The posts will feature the experience of IP enthusiasts who have been inspired, or driven, to come up with creative approaches to conveying the subtleties of intellectual property to students who, by and large, have had no other exposure to law or IP.  Lack of legal experience will not have deterred such students from choosing an IP module on their university course. They realize their careers could be spent creating IP rights for themselves and others, as well as interacting with other people’s IP rights,

It will be great to welcome contributions from academics, IP practitioners, and industry specialists whose input to Higher Education IP modules enhances the IP learning experience. Students too are welcome to share their IP education experience. This series of guest posts won’t spotlight IP online resources or texts, but I’m sure their use will feature significantly.

Despite rising levels of student interest in learning about IP, the challenges facing academic Higher Education IP educators are immense, and sometimes feel insurmountable. Greatest of these firstly is to persuade non-law faculty to allow IP education into a programme. There is often reluctance to make space for a topic that students value but their teachers don’t fully understand. Secondly, to persuade a REF focused academic employer that there is value in researching conference papers or journal articles that focus on developing IP education knowledge and skills. If you have encountered these challenges, and ‘won through’ it will be wonderful to learn how you did it!

IP Educators are successfully breaking down barriers between faculties, building dialogues, and introducing interdisciplinary activities that are fun and enhance IP learning. Does that include you?  You may be working with practitioners or with social media, with customized resources or industrialists, with gaming or with the professions, with tried and tested resources or with the unexpected. Or in ways we haven’t even thought of! It will be great to hear from you.”