Philippines launches first master’s program in IP management
MANILA – The Philippines is moving to build a new generation of intellectual property management professionals and innovation leaders with the launch of the country’s first master’s program dedicated to IP.
The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines, World Intellectual Property Organization and De La Salle University will open applications for the Master in Intellectual Property Management and Innovation, or MIPMI, for academic year 2027-28.
The participating institutions said the program is the first master’s degree dedicated to IP in the Philippines and the first in Asia focused on IP management and innovation.
The initiative seeks to develop professionals who can help Filipino creators, researchers, businesses and institutions protect intellectual property and turn ideas and innovations into commercially and socially useful products and services.
The joint master’s program was formally launched Sept. 20, 2026, at Museo Del Galeón, followed by a gala dinner at DLSU.
IPOPHL Director General Teodoro C. Pascua said the galleon, which symbolizes deep connectivity dating back more than 400 years, reflects the importance of connections in moving ideas, knowledge and intellectual property across borders and into new opportunities.
“The need for such collaboration has never been greater.”
“As Filipino creativity and innovation continue to grow, so too does the need for professionals who can manage, protect, commercialize and maximize the value of IP.”
“Through MIPMI, we are investing not only in knowledge, but in the people who will build and strengthen our country’s innovation ecosystem,” Pascua said.
WIPO Director General Daren Tang said the postgraduate program could broaden intellectual property education beyond its traditional legal foundations by combining IP and innovation management.
“It’s going to take a multidisciplinary, multi-perspective approach.”
“It’s going to help build a community of IP experts in the Philippines.”
“We can connect industry with the market, connect research with enterprise and connect the government regulator with the industry and the private sector.”
“In doing that, we can help build the next chapter of the Philippines’ innovation and creative ecosystem,” Tang said.
DLSU President Brother Bernard S. Oca said the partnership closely aligns with the university’s educational mission.
“The Lasallian education has always been concerned not only with what people know, but with what they are able to do with that knowledge, in service of others.”
“The same is true of innovation.”
“An idea becomes more meaningful when it solves a problem.”
“Research becomes more powerful when it reaches people.”
“Intellectual property becomes truly valuable when it helps knowledge move toward meaningful use,” Oca added.
The program builds on a trilateral partnership established by IPOPHL, WIPO and DLSU in 2022 to develop specialized talent in IP management and innovation beyond traditional intellectual property law.
The 36-unit program can be completed in 18 months or less and will be conducted in English at DLSU in Manila through a combination of face-to-face and hybrid lectures.
Offered under DLSU’s Department of Commercial Law, the program will include foundational, core and elective courses in IP management, innovation, technology transfer and commercialization.
Specialized courses will be taught with guidance from practitioners and experts in the field.
Through DLSU’s partnership with the WIPO Academy, students will be exposed to international intellectual property perspectives and practices while developing expertise applicable to the Philippine setting.
The program will also explore opportunities outside the classroom, including internships, work placements and collaborative research in IP and innovation management, subject to further arrangements and available resources.
The program is open to candidates of any nationality, with IPOPHL, WIPO and DLSU aiming to enroll at least 20 students each academic year. (Shannen Lei Reyes/Intern)
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