Contents

 

1.                Introduction.. 1

1.1       Introduction to the Research Project. 1

1.2       Statistics of Research Subjects. 1

1.3       Statistics of Effective Research Data.. 6

2.                Research Report.. 9

2.1       Part 1: Research Report for Currently Enrolled Students. 9

2.1.1    Internship Experience. 9

2.1.2    Career Plan. 9

2.1.3    Suggestions and Opinions on the Philips IP Academy Courses. 10

2.2       part 2: Research Report for Graduates. 13

2.2.1    Current Job. 13

2.2.2    The Current Job IP Related or Not 14

2.2.3    Help of the Philips IP Academy Courses. 15

2.2.4    Completely-in-English Teaching Way. 18

2.2.5    Requirement of Educational Background of Science and Engineering for the Course on Patent 19

2.2.6    The Greatest Benefit Obtained from the Philips IP Academy Courses. 20

2.2.7    Suggestions on IP Courses. 21

2.2.8    Knowledge and Ability that Currently Enrolled Students Should Improve. 22

3.                Conclusion.. 24

 

 1.      Introduction

 1.1  Introduction to the Research Project

After signing the Agreement between Fudan University (“Fudan”) and Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (“Philips”) on December 20, 2004, Fudan-Philips IP Academy was established on May 25, 2005. Philips has designated six senior experts as the Visiting Professors, Mr. Jack E. Haken, Mr. Jack D. Slobod, Mr. Daan Damen, Mr. Joost Bekkers, Mr. Grégory Baque and Mr. Phillippe Gatepin, to teach IP courses for JM (Juris Master) students at Law School since September 2005 including the basic course on IP, the advanced courses on patent, trademark and copyright laws, all of which are taught completely in English. And among these courses, the course on patent is only for students with educational background of science and engineering. So far, the IP courses have been successfully taken for seven academic years. Philips provides the students enrolled in these courses with English textbooks and teaching materials, as well as the annual scholarships granted for five excellent students and two hundred volumes of books on subjects of IP for Law Library. In addition to support the IP education, Philips also donated 300,000 RMB per year for IP research projects conducted by the Fudan Center for IP Research. 

From April 1 to May 15, 2012, Fudan University Center for IP Research conducted a research on the contribution of the Philips IP Academy courses for education of IP talents at Fudan University by the way of questionnaire and telephone surveys. Based on whether the students have graduated or not, this research has been divided into two parts: The first part is for the graduates once took Philips IP Academy courses, while the second part is for the currently enrolled students that selected these courses. The graduates mean the JM students enrolled in Law School of Fudan University in the years of 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 (“Grade 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008”); and, the currently enrolled students mean the JM students enrolled in Law School of Fudan University in the years of 2009, 2010 and 2011 (“Grade 2009, 2010, and 2011”).

1.2  Statistics of Research Subjects

Since September 2005, the Philips IP Academy courses have been taken for 14 semesters. 905 students have enrolled in these courses with credits including 645 in the basic course, 120 in the patent law seminar and 140 in the trademark/copyright law respectively. The course enrollment details are as follows:

For the fall semester of 2005-2006, 152 JM students were compulsorily enrolled in the basic IP course. All the enrolled students were enrolled in Fudan Law School as JM students in 2004 (“Grade 2004”). (NOTE: Grades of students are used as statistics unit for the following research report.)

For the spring semester of 2005-2006, 157 JM students were compulsorily enrolled in the basic IP course, with 156 of them being Grade 2005 JM students and 1 of them being Grade 2004 JM student.

For the fall semester of 2006-2007, 81 JM students were optionally enrolled in the basic IP course, with 80 of them being Grade 2006 JM students and one of them being Grade 2004 JM student. 22 students selected the advanced course on patent, with one of them being a Physics student and 21 of them being JM students (3 of them were Grade 2004 JM students, 17 of them were Grade 2005 JM students, and 1 of them was Grade 2006 JM student.) Moreover, Philips opened the advanced course on trademark and copyright, and 6 LLM (Master of Law) students selected this course.

For the spring semester of 2006-2007, 9 students selected Philips IP basic course, with 4 of them being Diplomatics students and 5 of them being Grade 2006 JM students. Meanwhile, 17 JM students selected the advanced course on patent, with one of them being Grade 2005 student and 16 of them being Grade 2006 students.

For the fall semester of 2007-2008, 32 students selected the advanced course on trademark and copyright, with 19 of them being JM students (16 of them were Grade 2004 JM students and 3 of them were Grade 2005 JM student.) and 13 of them being LLM students. Meanwhile, 12 Grade 2006 JM students selected the advanced course on patent.

For the spring semester of 2007-2008, 59 Grade 2007 JM students selected the basic IP course.

For the fall semester of 2008-2009, 34 students selected the advanced course on trademark and copyright, with 27 of them being Grade 2007 JM students and 7 of them being LLM students. Meanwhile, 17 JM students selected the advanced course on patent, with one of them being Grade 2006 JM student and 16 of them being Grade 2007 JM students.

For the spring semester of 2008-2009, 54 Grade 2008 JM students selected the basic IP course.

For the fall semester of 2009-2010, 16 students selected the advanced course on trademark and copyright, with 6 of them being Grade 2008 JM students, 9 of them being LLM students and an overseas student. Meanwhile, 16 Grade 2008 JM students selected the advanced course on patent.

For the spring semester of 2009-2010, 40 Grade 2009 JM students selected the basic IP course.

For the fall semester of 2010-2011, 21 students selected the advanced course on trademark and copyright, with 16 of them being Grade 2009 JM students and 5 of them being LLM students. Meanwhile, 16 Grade 2009 JM students selected the advanced course on patent.

For the spring semester of 2010-2011, 59 Grade 2010 JM students selected the basic IP course.

For the fall semester of 2011-2012, 31 students selected the advanced course on trademark and copyright, with 22 of them being Grade 2010 JM students and 9 of them being LLM students. Meanwhile, 20 Grade 2010 JM students selected the advanced course on patent.

For the spring semester of 2011-2012, 34 Grade 2011 JM students selected the basic IP course.

Since the subject of this research is merely JM students, and the questionnaire and telephone surveys were made based on the grades of the JM students (Only this way is feasible, and “grade” means school enrollment year.), the statistics results below are shown according to the grades of the JM students, without any other unrelated data:

Table1 – Status of Students Enrolled in the Advanced Course on Patent

 

Table2 – Status of Students Enrolled in the Advanced Course on Trademark and Copyright

 

Additionally, for different grades, the numbers of the JM students enrolled in the advanced course on patent, the advanced course on trademark and copyright and all the three Philips IP courses (basic, advanced on patent, advanced on trademark and copyright) are listed as follows:

Table3 – Status of Students Enrolled in All the Three Courses

Chart 1- No. of Students Enrolled in Philips IP Courses Based on Their Grades

 Chart 2- No. of Students Enrolled in Philips IP Advanced Courses Based on Their Grades

  

1.3  Statistics of Effective Research Data

According to the grade (school enrollment year) of the JM students enrolled in Philips IP courses, the course enrollment student numbers and survey response rates are as follows:

A) The number of Grade 2004 JM students who were compulsorily enrolled in Philips IP Academy courses is 154 and the number of effective responses to the questionnaire and telephone survey is 86, thus, the response rate is 55.8%;

B) The number of Grade 2005 JM studentswho were compulsorily enrolled in Philips IP Academy courses is 156, and the number of  effective responses to the questionnaire and telephone survey is 57, thus, the response rate is 36.5%;

C) The number of Grade 2006 JM students who selected Philips IP Academy courses is 85, and the number of effective responses to the questionnaire and telephone survey is 27, thus, the response rate is 31.8%;

D) The number of Grade 2007 JM students who selected Philips IP Academy courses is 59, and the number of effective responses to the questionnaire and telephone survey is 27, thus, the response rate is 45.8%;

E) The number of Grade 2008 JM students who selected Philips IP Academy courses is 54, and the number of effective responses to the questionnaire and telephone survey is 29, thus, the response rate is 53.7%;

F) The number of Grade 2009 JM students who selected Philips IP Academy courses is 40, and the number of effective responses to the questionnaire and telephone survey is 24, thus, the response rate is 60%;

G) The number of Grade 2010 JM students who selected Philips IP Academy courses is 59, and the number of effective responses to the questionnaire and telephone survey is 45, thus, the response rate is 76%; and

H) The number of Grade 2011 JM students who selected Philips IP Academy courses is 34, and the number of effective responses to the questionnaire and telephone survey is 34, thus, the response rate is 100%.

 

Table 4 – Status of Effective Responses

Grade (School Enrollment Year)		No. of Students Enrolled in Philips IP Courses	No. of Effective Responses	Response Rate
Currently Enrolled Students	2011	34	34	100%
	2010	59	45	76%
	2009	40	24	60%
Graduates	2008	54	29	53.7%
	2007	59	27	45.8%
	2006	85	27	31.8%
	2005	156	57	36.5%
	2004	154	86	55.8%

 

Chart 3 - Effective Responses to Questionnaire and Telephone Survey(for Graduates)

 

 

Chart 4 - Effective Responses to Questionnaire and Telephone Survey

(for Currently Enrolled Students )

 

Since the respondents of this research include not only graduates but also currently enrolled students, in questionnaire design and telephone research, the questions we have designed are different for different group. Therefore, to reflect the result of this research more accurately, we have made the analysis to this research by dividing it into two parts—the first part is for the currently enrolled students that have selected the Philips IP Academy courses, and the second part is for the graduates that have selected the Philips IP Academy courses.  

2.      Research Report

 2.1  Part 1: Research Report for Currently Enrolled Students

Since the currently enrolled students have not graduated yet, the research for them focuses on their internship, career plan and opinions on Philips IP Academy courses.

2.1.1            Internship Experience

A) For the 24 effective responses of the Grade 2009 JM students, all of the respondents have internship experience, and 12 of the respondents have internship experience in the field of or related to intellectual property;

B) For the 45 effective responses of the Grade 2010 JM students, 30 of the respondents have internship experience, and 13 of the respondents have internship experience in the field of or related to intellectual property; and

C) For the 34 effective responses of the Grade 2011 JM students, since they are just having the basic course of Philips IP Academy courses, only 3 of the respondents have internship experience, and only 1 of the respondent has internship experience in the field of or related to intellectual property.

 

Chart 5 - Internship Experience of Currently Enrolled Students 

 

2.1.2        Career Plan

When asked whether they plan to pursue a career related to IP in the future:

A)           Among all the 24 effective responses of the Grade 2009 JM students, 14 respondents plan to pursue a career related to IP;

B)            Among all the 45 effective responses of the Grade 2010 JM students, 9 respondents plan to pursue a career related to IP; and

C)            Among all the 34 effective responses of the Grade 2011 JM students, 17 respondents plan to pursue a career related to IP.

 

Chart 6 - Career Plan of Currently Enrolled Students

From the research on the internship experience and career plan of the currently enrolled students, we can know that, over one-third students have internship experience related to IP. And, for their career plan, a fair number of students plan to pursue a career related to IP. One the one hand, this result comes from the help of the Philips IP Academy courses to the students, by providing them the chance to learn advanced IP knowledge and to foster their interests in IP; on the other hand, this result comes from China’s economic development in these years, and particularly China is currently paying more and more attention to IP protection, which has made this profession a sunrise profession. Quite a lot of students, especially those with the educational background of science and engineering, have strong interests in taking this profession.

 

2.1.3             Suggestions and Opinions on the Philips IP Academy Courses

Another important issue for the currently enrolled students is their opinions on the Philips IP Academy courses. The Philips IP Academy courses have been set up in Fudan University for more than 7 years, and quite a lot of students have benefited from these courses. For a better course effect for the students, we have specially designed some questions.

First, for the completely-in-English teaching way, in the effective responses, the Grade 2009 and 2010 JM students all think that this teaching way has helped them a lot. For the students enrolled in 2011, 31 of the respondents think it is helpful, while 4 of the respondents think it is not helpful or with little help.

For the question “What is the biggest help to you from these Philips IP Academy courses?”, the total number of effective responses is 103, and 56 of the respondents have chosen the answer “To gain IP knowledge”; 29 of the respondents have chosen the answer “To improve legal thinking ability”; 12 of the respondents have chosen the answer “To improve English ability”; and 2 of the respondents have chosen the answer “Other”.

 

Chart 7 –The Biggest Help Obtained from Philips IP Academy Courses 

 

Second, when asked “Should the selection of the Patent course only be available to students with educational background of science and engineering?” :

A)                 The number of the effective responses of the Grade 2009 JM students is 24, with 14 of the respondents choosing “No” and 10 of the respondents choosing “Yes”;

B)                 The number of the effective responses of the Grade 2010 JM students is 45, with 15 of the respondents choosing “No” and 30 of the respondents choosing “Yes”;

C)                 The number of the effective responses of the Grade 2011 JM students is 34, with 15 of the respondents choosing “No” and 19 of the respondents choosing “Yes”.

Chart 8 – Should the Selection of the Patent Course Only Be Available to Students with Educational Background of Science and Engineering? 

  And, when asked whether the evaluation of performance of these courses is reasonable, all the respondents think it is reasonable.

When asked what their suggestions on the Philips IP Academy courses are, the students have given their own suggestions based on their own feelings.

A)                Some students think that it may be better to first study Chinese IP basic courses, and then select the Philips IP Academy courses, so that the students can better understand both Chinese and foreign IP laws and development;

B)                Some students feel stressful to study “patent” and “trademark and copyright” courses in the same semester, and hope that “trademark and copyright” course can be put in the different semester;

C)                Some students hope that some Chinese IP theory and practice can be added to these courses, and more class interaction can be added; and

D)                Some students hope that the patent course can be available for students without background of science and engineering, so that these students can learn more and get more prepared for an IP related career.

Meanwhile, many students have expressed their appreciation and praise for the Philips IP Academy courses. Some students speak highly of the carefulness attitudes of the teachers from Royal Philips. They carefully correct the students’ homework, and sometimes even the words number of the correction is more than the words number of the homework itself. Many students have shown their expectations to the Philips IP Academy courses, and they hope that this cooperation project can be continued in a very long term, since these courses are really helpful for their future career development.

 

2.2  Part 2: Research Report for Graduates

Philips IP Academy courses have been set up in Fudan University since 2005, and so far there have been over 630 people that have selected more than one course. In order to improve these courses, we have made the questionnaire and telephone research to the graduates, to mainly get the information of whether their job is IP related and whether the Philips IP Academy courses have helped their career development.

2.2.1            Current Job

Regarding the current job,

A)                for the Grade 2004 JM graduates, among the 86 effective respondents, 22 respondents are working currently in law firms, 15 respondents are working as legal counsels in companies, 29 respondents are serving governmental authorities and public institutions, and the left 20 respondents are taking other professions;

B)                 for the Grade 2005 JM graduates, among the 57 effective respondents, 16 respondents are working currently in law firms, 12 respondents are working as legal counsels in companies, 22 respondents are serving governmental authorities and bodies, and the left 7 respondents are taking other professions;

C)                 for the Grade 2006 JM graduates, among the 27 effective respondents, 11 respondents are working currently in law firms, 4 respondents are working as legal counsels in companies, 8 respondents are serving governmental authorities and public institutions, and the left 4 respondents are taking other professions;

D)                for the Grade 2007 JM graduates, among the 27 effective respondents, 11 respondents are working currently in law firms, 4 respondents are working as legal counsels in companies, 3 respondents are serving governmental authorities and public institutions, and the left 9 respondents are taking other professions; and

E)                 for the Grade 2008 JM graduates8, among the 29 effective respondents, 9 respondents are working currently in law firms, 9 respondents are working as legal counsels in companies, 7 respondents are serving governmental authorities and public institutions, and the left 4 respondents are taking other professions.

Many graduates are working in famous domestic firms like King & Wood Mallesons, Jun He Law Offices and Zhong Lun Law Firm etc., and some graduates are working in famous foreign law firms like Gide Loyrette Nouel Shanghai Office (France), Salans Shanghai Office etc.

For the graduates working in various companies currently, most of them are working as legal counsels, while some are working in other divisions.

As for those working in governmental authorities and public institutions, the most popular bodies are courts of justice, procuratorates, and schools and universities. Besides, some graduates are working in Tax Bureau, the Customs etc.

Chart 9 – Current Job Status of the Graduates

 

 

2.2.2            The Current Job IP Related or Not

When asked whether their current work is IP related,

A)                for the Grade 2004 JM graduates, 21 respondents have chosen “Yes”, while 65 respondents have chosen “No”. And the graduates whose work is IP related account for 24.5% of the total effective respondents; 

B)                for the Grade 2005 JM graduates, 20 respondents have chosen “Yes”, while 37 respondents have chosen “No”. And the graduates whose work is IP related account for 35.1% of the total effective respondents;

C)                for the Grade 2006 JM graduates, 8 respondents have chosen “Yes”, while 19 respondents have chosen “No”. And the graduates whose work is IP related account for 29.6% of the total effective respondents;

D)                for the Grade 2007 JM graduates, 7 respondents have chosen “Yes”, while 20 respondents have chosen “No”. And the graduates whose work is IP related account for 26% of the total effective respondents; and

E)                for the Grade 2008 JM graduates, 11 respondents have chosen “Yes”, while 18 respondents have chosen “No”. And the graduates whose work is IP related account for 38% of the total effective respondents.

Chart 10 –Current Job IP Related or Not  

 

 2.2.3            Help of the Philips IP Academy Courses

Among all the effective respondents of the JM graduates enrolled in the Philips IP Academy courses, for the Grade 2004 JM graduates, 3 respondents selected both the IP basic course and the advanced course on patent (The advanced course on trademark and copyright was not set up then.); for the Grade 2005 JM graduates, 2 respondents selected all the three courses; for the Grade 2006 JM graduates, 8 respondents selected all the three courses; for the Grade 2007 JM graduates, 10 respondents selected all the three courses; for the Grade 2008 JM graduates, 4 respondents selected all the three courses. Since the advanced course on patent requires that the students should have educational background of science and engineering, many students felt that it was a pity that they could not select the advanced course on patent. Generally speaking, they had great interest in the Philips IP Academy courses.

When asked “What kind of help do you think the selection of the Philips IP Academy courses gives you for your work?”,“Whether the courses are helpful or not?”, among all the effective respondents, 194 respondents think the Philips IP Academy courses have given them great help or certain help for their work, accounting for 85.8% of the total. And, the most majority of the graduates whose work is IP related think the Philips IP Academy courses are of great help to them. We can see that, for the graduates whose work is IP related, the more their work is related to IP, the more helpful they think the Philips courses are. For the graduates who think the Philips courses are not helpful for their work, most of them are working in fields not related to IP at all.

 

Chart 11–Whether the Courses Are Helpful or Not

 

For the question “if you think the Philips courses are helpful, what is the biggest help for you?”, 194 respondents have answered this question. There are mainly three answers by classification.

A)                120 respondents think the biggest help is to broaden their views, increase their IP professional knowledge, and know more about the IP systems of the US and the EU and the IP practice of multinational companies. And this answer accounts for 61.2% of the total.

B)                44 respondents think that the biggest help is to improve their IP professional English ability, which benefits them a lot in reading relevant English cases and English literature. And this answer accounts for 22.4% of the total.

C)                24 respondents think the biggest help is to train their legal thinking ability. And this answer accounts for 12.2% the total.

D)                Besides, 6 respondents have other views, including to stimulate study interests, to improve learning method, and to be more familiar with the use of Westlaw database etc.

Chart 12 –What Is the Biggest Help Obtained from the Philips Academy Courses 

 

For the following question “If there’s no help for you, what do you think is the biggest reason?”, 28 respondents have given their answers. There are three major reasons after classification.

A)                16 respondents think the biggest reason is that their work is not IP related, accounting for 57.1% of the total;

B)                8 respondents think the biggest reason is that the teaching content is not broad enough, lacking of knowledge and practice concerning Chinese IP law, accounting for 28.6% of the total; and

C)                4 respondents think that the biggest reason is that they don’t have much interest in IP, and their English language ability is not good enough, accounting for 14.3% of the total.

Chart 13–If There Is No Help, What’s the Main Reason?  

 

2.2.4            Completely-in-English Teaching Way

When asked “Do you think the completely-in-English teaching way suits Juris Master students?”, for the Grade 2004 JM graduates, 71 respondents have chosen “Yes”; for the Grade 2005 JM graduates, 50 respondents have chosen “Yes”; for the Grade 2006 JM graduates, 23 respondents have chosen “Yes”; for the Grade 2007 JM graduates, 23 respondents have chosen “Yes”; and, for the Grade 2008 JM graduates, 26 respondents have chosen “Yes”. The “Yes” answers account for over 85% of the total for each grade respectively. It can be told that the graduates have arrived at an agreement that the completely-in-English teaching way is suitable and helpful, by improving both their IP knowledge and English abilities. Some of the students majored in English language during their undergraduate study, and it was easy for them to catch what the teacher said in class. For those whose previous major was not English language, it was a good chance for them to take the courses taught completely in English. English, as the international language, plays an especially important role in the metropolitan city Shanghai. For a better future, most students passionately take the courses by actively preparing lessons before class and concentrating in class.

 

Chart 14–Whether the Completely-in-English Teaching Way Suits Juris Master Students 

 

 

2.2.5            Requirement of Educational Background of Science and Engineering for the Course of Patent

For the question “Do you think that the course of Patent should be only available to the students with educational background of science and engineering?”, in the 226 effective respondents, 81 respondents have chosen “Yes”, while the other 145 respondents have chosen “No”. As to this issue, different voices exist in both the academic world and the practical world. Currently China’s examination system for the patent agent qualification requests the candidates should have educational background of science and engineering, which has incurred lots of criticism. The effective respondents hold different opinions in this issue too. Some respondents did hope to take the course of Patent, but they were unable to take the course since they don’t have educational background of science and engineering. They think that, although in practice, much scientific and engineering knowledge is needed, for the teaching of Patent, the main basis is law, and they can learn basic scientific and engineering knowledge by self-study or choosing other related courses.

  

Chart 15–Whether It’s a Must for Students to Select the Course of Patent to Have Educational Background of Science and Engineering

 

 

2.2.6            The Greatest Benefit Obtained from the Philips IP Academy courses

For the question “What’s the greatest benefit you’ve obtained from the Philips IP Academy courses?”, corresponding to the previous question “if you think the Philips courses are helpful, what is the biggest help for you?”, among the 226 effective responses, 201 responses focus on increasing IP knowledge, improving professional English and training legal thinking ability, accounting for 89% of the total. Besides, the other 25 respondents think that the greatest benefit they have obtained is to have experienced the special teaching ways of interaction and case analysis. They think that the Philips teachers’ teaching method is quite different from traditional domestic teaching method, which has brought them joy and interest and new ideas.

Additionally, in the survey for the students who took the Philips IP advanced courses, more than 80% of the students think that the advanced courses on patent, trademark and copyright are fairly detailed and targeted. Many students who are engaged in IP related work after graduation feel that the advanced courses have played an important role in helping them determine their career orientation by broadening their visions and improving their competitiveness. They say that the employers acknowledge the quality of the Philips IP advanced courses. And, the students who have obtained the Philips IP Advanced Talent Certificate have great advantage in finding an IP related job. All the students believe that the advanced courses are quite helpful.

 

Chart 16– The Biggest Help of the Philips IP Academy Courses 

 

2.2.7            Suggestions on IP Courses

For the question “What are your suggestions on the IP courses of Fudan University?”, 178 effective respondents have given their open suggestions.

123 responses focus on increasing practical case analysis, accounting for 69.1% of the total. They hope: 1) The IP courses of Fudan University can take the main teaching method of case analysis; 2) experienced lawyers or patent agents can be often invited to the university to communicate with the students; and 3) internship opportunity can be offered for students.

34 respondents hope that more theoretical and practical knowledge regarding Chinese IP fields can be taught in class, accounting for 19.1% of the total. Their reason is that the practical IP work relates mainly to Chinese IP fields, so, more teaching content for Chinese IP will be more helpful.

17 respondents hope that more detailed and in-depth IP knowledge can be taught in class, accounting for 10% of the total. They hope that 1) more class time can be offered; and 2) individual plan can be designed for individual student according to their interests.

Meanwhile, some respondents have given other constructive advice, including: 1) the students with great interest in IP can participate in specialized research if the research budget allows; 2) the students can be taught more strictly; 3) more IP procedural law can be taught; 4) more foreign teachers can be offered for the students to choose from; 5) teaching way of group cooperation can be adopted; and 6) cross research between IP and other law subjects can be increased etc.

Chart 17–Suggestions on the IP Courses of Fudan University 

 

2.2.8            Knowledge and Ability that Currently Enrolled Students Should Improve

For the last question “Considering your current work, what do you think are the knowledge and ability that currently enrolled students should improve in IP study?”, 164 respondents have given their open answers.

And 74 respondents think the currently enrolled students need to improve their IP practice knowledge and develop real problem-solving ability. This answer accounts for 45% of the total.

42 respondents think that for those who do not plan to pursue an IP related job, they just need to master the basic knowledge, especially the basic Chinese IP system. Or, on this basis, deeply study one branch of IP according to their interests. This answer accounts for 26% of the total.

29 respondents have given emphasis on the educational background of science and engineering for the students to work in the IP fields, especially the patent field. They think that it might be quite helpful for the currently enrolled students that background technical knowledge can be taught slightly in class. This answer accounts for 18% of the total. Of course, meanwhile they suggest that the students without educational background of science and engineering consider deepening their study in trademark, copyright, design patent, and anti-unfair competition fields etc., the business amount of which is quite huge too.

15 respondents think it’s the most important for the currently enrolled students to develop logical thinking ability and master the basic ideas and methods to deal with IP disputes. This answer accounts for 9% of the total.

Some respondents have raised other suggestions. For example, some suggest the currently enrolled students strengthen their study in copyright, since they may need to publish papers during graduate study. Then the study might be very helpful for this practice.

Some respondents suggest that the currently enrolled students realize the correlation between IP and other relevant law subjects, and be good at making use of this correlation to study well. Besides, some respondents suggest that currently enrolled students combine IP and other kinds of property and do research on the transfer of all kinds of property in the market.

Chart 18–Knowledge and Ability Currently Enrolled Students Should Improve 

 

 3.      Conclusion

Generally speaking, the IP education cooperation project between Royal Philips and Fudan University is very successful, since 1) it has obtained the recognition of the students; 2) it helps broaden the students’ views as well as prepares the students with quite useful IP knowledge; and 3) it helps a lot in improving the students’ English ability and legal thinking ability etc.

Although we do not set specific questions to get the students’ comment on the Philips experts’ teaching attitudes and performance, these questions are implied in the three questions “What’s the greatest benefit you’ve obtained from the Philips IP Academy courses?”, “What are your suggestions on the IP courses of Fudan University?”, and “Considering your current work, what do you think are the knowledge and ability that currently enrolled students should improve in IP study?”. The answers of the students show that they feel satisfied with the Philips experts’ performance. The successful cooperation of this project depends mainly on the practical experience, careful and responsible teaching attitudes of the Philips experts, the scholarship offered by Royal Philips to excellent students, and the teaching assistance offered provided by Fudan University.

Meanwhile, the respondents have brought forward some sincere suggestions. For example, 69% of the respondents (the graduates) hope to increase teaching content of case analysis, which closely relates to students’ practical problem-solving ability in real work.

On the basis of the research on the graduates, we can see that the cooperation on IP education between Royal Philips and Fudan University has made good achievement. We hope to make further improvement in developing these courses for a greater contribution.

 

(The End.)