A public lecture on the topic: “From the Classroom to Entrepreneurial Through the Application of Industry Property Systems” has been delivered by Dr. Isaac Palmer at the Mary Kinglsey Auditorium at Fourah Bay College.
Dr. Palmer started by presenting the country’s GDP curve since Independence adding that the balance of trade had been calculated from the export of traditional mineral and agricultural produce against the importation of manufactured goods. He said the country’s manufacturing base was very weak and that the informal sector, which takes care of Small and Medium Enterprises were not easily captured in the calculation of the real GDP of the country. Dr. Palmer said development interventions were intended to move communities or societies from worse off situations to situations where they feel they are better off. He said the dynamic nature of development requires that policy papers should be interpreted along the aspirations of the people “The Export Strategy Paper prepared some time ago, emphasized value addition as well as diversification of the export base for Sierra Leone to improve on its balance of trade equation,” Dr. Palmer said. As an entry point into the main topic, Dr. Palmer analyzed the PRSP 1 and 2 being the recent implemented development blueprints for Sierra Leone. He was however concerned that the University of Sierra Leone was not involved in the formulation of the PRSP 2, otherwise referred to as the Agenda for Change. He said he was of the conviction that “the application of Industrial Property systems can create jobs for young graduates, improve on the export statistics, and hence improvement in the country’s GDP.” The eminent scholar then gave a brief outline of Intellectual Property. He pointed out the differences among the Patents, Utility Models and Industrial Design. He trilled the audience by emphasizing the need for Sierra Leone to industrialize using Intellectual Property Systems. Dr. Palmer noted that for Sierra Leone to transform into a middle level economy, “Government must promote entrepreneurship to create jobs to propel sustainable economic development,” adding that researchers must address the challenges faced by the country.” He said the global economy has moved on from traditional industries to knowledge industries with Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) forming the Industrial Foundation for any Developing Country. He emphasised on “the need for technology development and transfer and the power of innovation for the promotion of a knowledge-based economy for Sierra Leone to move to middle-level economy.” Speaking to Politico newspaper, Dr. Palmer said he had “already written a proposal to introducing Intellectual Property Studies at the University of Sierra Leone. ”He said that would be discussed at the next senate meeting in June this year, adding that Njala University may soon host him as guest lecturer to replicate the lecture. The public lecture attracted both the University Community and the public servants including the Administrator and Registrar General, officials from the Ministry of Trade, NRA and other private enterprises, especially the Executive Director of FINIC. Dr. Isaac F. Palmer is Director of University Research and Development Services, University of Sierra Leone. He holds a PhD in Natural Sciences and used to teach Petrophysics, Borehole Geophysics and Well Logging in the Geology Department at Fourah Bay College
