In this session from the September capacity-building training in Lebanon (15–20 September), Nisrine Haddad (SADER & Associates) and Joelle Nader (Lebanese American University) discussed how universities can better support researchers in commercializing their ideas.

The conversation focused on the tension between academia’s “publish or perish” culture and the need to protect innovations before public disclosure. The speakers emphasized that universities can play a key role by raising awareness about intellectual property, encouraging timely patent filing, and adapting institutional policies so that innovation, commercialization, and patenting are recognized alongside academic publishing.