13 PATENTS AND SPIN OFF COMPANIES Presently St. Augustine maintains 13 patents and spin off companies. Some examples include: Formation of Percussive Harmonic Instrument (PHI) Innovations Limited, a joint venture company between The UWI, the inventors of the PHI, and the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, to exploit the licence for PHI, for which The UWI is the owner of 10 patents in different countries; • A US PATENT for new fingerprint technology (2018) which will be commercialised; • A CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT SPIN-OFF to commercialise new products such as an asphalt based marine coatings; • A COCOA RESEARCH CENTRE SPIN-OFF to sell chocolate and other innovative cocoa based products; • A LICENSE AGREEMENT between The UWI (owner of the IP) and Lake Asphalt of Trinidad and Tobago (2019) for two products in return for a percent of profit from the sales; • LAUNCH OF UWI VENTURES LIMITED , with a board of mainly business persons (2019) to bring in venture capital from industry and speed- up the entrepreneurship process in The UWI; • A GLOBAL PATENT (2020) for a new antibiotic adjuvant.
The UWI Ventures Ltd. is a significant advancement in building an entrepreneurial university. Legally incorporated in June 2019, it is chaired by Professor of Practice Gerry Brooks and is targeted to begin official operations in the first quarter of 2020. To that end, the company has already established financial partnerships with Shell, the National Gas Company, and Republic Bank Limited. UWI Ventures adds the speed and connectivity vital in any entrepreneurial endeavour. Applicants can submit online and have their commercial ideas speedily assessed through ‘Accelerator App’. This digital innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem will seamlessly take the budding entrepreneur, innovator, or funder through the other links in the circle— StACIE and the Entrepreneurship Unit. Applications are welcomed from alumni, students, faculties, the public and/ or entrepreneurs in viable high-value start-ups within the Caribbean and the Diaspora—regardless of age, gender, geographic location, or ethnicity. The Campus now has a well-established innovation discovery and entrepreneurship ecosystem to promote local and regional entrepreneurship wherever it is located globally.
UWI Ventures adds the speed and connectivity vital in any entrepreneurial endeavour.
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