Innovus Newsletter 45th Edition

Innovus Newsletter 45th Edition

Wear your mask, says Stellenbosch University!

“Mask wearing is not just about protecting yourself. It is also about protecting others, about being a responsible citizen and about looking out for those most at risk of serious consequences from COVID-19,” said Prof Stan du Plessis, Institutional Committee for Business Continuity Chair at Stellenbosch University (SU). Du Plessis explained that it has come to the University’s attention that there are some students and staff who are not wearing their masks in public spaces on campus. “This is worrying, not only because of the fact that it is compulsory to wear a mask in public, but also because not doing so...
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Stellenbosch University’s BioCODE first recipient of UTF funding

While you read this article, there will be at least 4 500 cancer fatalities and 8 000 from cardiovascular disease, according to the World Health Organisation. These statistics are exacerbated by the circumstances and lack of health care for many of these victims in developing countries. Prof Resia Pretorius, head of Stellenbosch University’s Physiological Sciences Department in the Faculty of Science, and her team of researchers, engineers and scientists hope to address these needs with the patenting and development of the BioCODE 2-in-1 nanosensor to determine disease risk in patients. Pretorius says cancer and cardiovascular diseases are often characterised by type 2 diabetes,...
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Stellenbosch University to sell their branded products online at Takealot

Stellenbosch University (SU) is adding selected branded products from the Matie Shop, the official university store, on Takealot to make it accessible to students and alumni everywhere in South Africa.  As one of the first universities to do so, SU now offers alumni’s favourite clothing, bags, water bottles, zip folders, pens and keyrings online. This is an initiative of Innovus, SU’s commercial division. The merchandise carries the Maties button or the SU logo that incorporates the centennial logo. This logo is now being refreshed so it will be the last time one will be able to purchase SU memorabilia with these logos.

Stellenbosch University and local biotech company tackle COVID-19 together!

Stellenbosch University (SU) in South Africa and AzarGen Biotechnologies (Pty) Ltd, a South African biotechnology company focused on developing human therapeutic proteins using advanced genetic engineering and synthetic biology techniques in plants, have joined forces in the global fight against the coronavirus. In the hope of contributing towards a cure, the collaboration will see the partners further develop SynSurf®, a synthetic pharmaceutical to be tested as a supportive therapeutic candidate for the treatment of Acute/Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). Based on the latest research, ARDS has been cited as one of the major reasons that COVID-19 patients become critically ill and/or die. Priority...
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SharkSafe win prestigious green award

SharkSafe Barrier, one of Innovus’s spinout companies, walked away with a prestigious NSTF-Lewis Foundation Green Economy Award at the annual National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF/South32Awards). The researcher and inventor, Prof Conrad Matthee, from the Department of Botany and Zoology in Stellenbosch University Faculty of Science said they are honoured to receive the NSTF-Lewis Foundation Green Economy Award for inventing the first nature-inspired, eco-friendly shark specific barrier SharkSafeTM which can protect beachgoers without harming the sharks nor other marine animals. Michael Rutzen, Dr Craig O’Connell and Dr Sara Andreotti are the other three inventors of the SharkSafe BarrierTM. “An award like this helps...
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Madelein Kleyn received international award

Innovus’s Director of Technology Transfer, Dr Madelein Kleyn, received a Service Recognition Award for her services to Licensing Executives Society International (LESI), a resource for the members of the licensing profession involved with knowledge transfer between industries and with universities or government bodies. Madelein is the President of LES SA. The society is a non-profit organisation that aims to encourage high professional standards among individuals engaged in the transfer and licensing of technology, to assist the members in improving their skills and techniques in licensing through self-education; attending educational activities; and through their exchange of information, both personally and by way of...
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Innovus set up four new spinouts during lockdown

Since March 2020, and despite the lockdown period announced as a measure to manage the global COVID-19 pandemic locally, Innovus has set up five new spinout companies and raised a total investment of R12million for Stellenbosch University projects and startups. The four companies are BIOCODE, Phagoflux, Susento and Biotikum, says Anita Nel, Chief Director of Innovus. The Innovus team is working with researchers on a fifth spinout company, Immobazyme. Furthermore, says Anita, four projects received a total amount of R2 449 476 from the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) Seed Fund. “The University Technology Fund (UTF) Seed Fund stage invested R3 million in two companies, with...
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First virtual SU Hackathon sees more than eighty students participate

The annual Stellenbosch University (SU) Hackathon, where innovation and entrepreneurship are encouraged amongst Stellenbosch students, went virtual this year over the weekend of 31 July to 2 August 2020, with more than eighty students participating in one of two challenges to win a share of the R30 000 prize money. Hosted by Innovus, SU’s technology transfer office responsible for the commercialisation of the University’s intellectual property assets, this was the third annual Hackathon, and students could take part in either a Fintech Coding Challenge or a Data Science Challenge. This year the sponsors were Capitec, Entersekt and Explore. The theme of the...
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