MENA Talks: IP & Science

Over the last few decades, patent databases have grown exponentially and the advent of big data has changed the way that patent data can be utilised for the benefit of corporations, giving rise to IP Landscaping – a sophisticated new way of identifying trends and market activity that can be invaluable in setting business objectives priorities and R&D decision-making. In this episode of Thomson Reuters MENA Talks, we speak with Vashe Kanesarajah, a senior consultant for Thomson Reuters IP Consulting Services, on the value of IP landscaping in corporations.

Over the last few decades, patent databases have grown exponentially and the advent of big data has changed the way that patent data can be utilised for the benefit of corporations, giving rise to IP Landscaping – a sophisticated new way of identifying trends and market activity that can be invaluable in setting business objectives priorities and R&D decision-making. In this episode of Thomson Reuters MENA Talks, we speak with Vashe Kanesarajah, a senior consultant for Thomson Reuters IP Consulting Services, on the value of IP landscaping in corporations.

Improving the performance of academic and research institutions in the Middle East and North Africa is becoming an increasingly important objective. An institution’s research profile and ranking, impacts how the international academic community views that institution. In this episode of Thomson Reuters MENA Talks, Dr. Walid Hassan discusses the value of strategic planning to move an instituion from where they are today to where they want to be tomorrow.

In the face of reputational risk, companies need to be increasingly cognizant of their online presence. An estimated 93% of top brands experience online fraud. In this episode of Thomson Reuters MENA Talks, we speak with Kevin Day of MarkMonitor, a global leader in managing reputational risk online.

The oil and gas industry remains at the centre of many GCC  economies. Bob Stembridge, Senior Patents Analyst with Thomson Reuters Intellectual Property & Science division, speaks on the topic of innovation in the oil and gas industry based on an examination of scientific papers and patent activity. Topics addressed include methodology in defining innovation, key innovation trends, and the regional patent landscape.

The race to establish knowledge economies in many countries in the Middle East and North Africa has placed pressure on academic and research institutions to not only increase research output but the impact of that output. This can make it challenging for academic and public funding mechanisms to objectively decide which research projects and researchers to fund. In the past, these types of decisions have been made subjectively – based on so called ‘peer review’ whereby a panel or committee of subject matter experts assess research in their respective fields. This method, however, is losing favour as scientific research becomes more complex and specialized, to the extent that personal knowledge is no longer sufficient in assessing the breadth and variety of research produced. The answer to this increasing need for objective evaluation is bibliometrics. Bibliometrics employs quantitative analysis of publication and citation data, allowing university and government offices to impartially evaluate research output and make informed funding decisions. This episode of Thomson Reuters MENA Talks speaks with Philip Purnell, the Head of Thought Leadership in the Middle East and North Africa. Philip currently works with academic and governmental research institutions and evaluation bodies across Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East on strategies to manage and evaluate research output and performance. In this episode, Philip tackles some of the key questions related to bibliometrics, including: How can we use bibliometrics to identify hot topics and new trends? Can bibliometrics be used to evaluate Arabic research? Is it possible to ‘game the system’ to boost one’s citation count?

Coming soon; Thomson Reuters Mena Talks. A Podcast in which we  explore the trends, issues and potential challenges faced by organizations and governments in the Middle East and North Africa