Ts. Irfan Awang

Founder/CEO

Patentsworth International

Ts. Irfan Awang is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Patentsworth International and a Professional Technologist (Ts.) registered with the Malaysian Board of Technologists. Trained as a chemical engineer, he began his career as a process engineer with one of Malaysia’s largest palm oil corporations, gaining substantial operational insight and hands‑on industrial experience that later shaped his multidisciplinary approach to intellectual property (IP). He subsequently transitioned into the IP field, developing deep expertise across patents, trademarks, industrial designs, copyrights, layout designs of integrated circuits, geographical indications, and plant variety protection. With more than 13 years of experience, he has advised startups, SMEs, university spin‑offs, multinational corporations, research institutes, and government agencies on IP protection, prosecution, enforcement, commercialisation, and strategic portfolio development.

WEBSITE: irfan@patentsworth.co

Irfan is a Certified Patent Valuation Analyst (CPVA) endorsed by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS), having led numerous valuation exercises involving patents, technology assets, and innovation portfolios. His assessments support investment decisions, licensing strategies, and commercialisation pathways for emerging technologies. He serves as Head of Panel for both the Malaysian Grant Steering Committee and the Malaysian Grant Technical Committee under the Ministry of Higher Education, contributing to national innovation governance and research commercialisation frameworks. His leadership roles include Vice President of the Malaysian Intellectual Property Association (2025–2027), former Honorary Treasurer of MIPA (2023–2025), and Honorary Treasurer of the Innovation & Technology Managers Association (ITMA) (2023–2026). He also serves on the Board of Directors of a Malaysian university spin‑off, providing strategic guidance on commercialisation and IP governance. Since 2019, Irfan has been an adjunct lecturer at Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, actively teaching and speaking on patent drafting, innovation management, and IP commercialisation. His contributions to Malaysia’s innovation ecosystem were recognised when he was listed among Successful People in Malaysia 2021 by the British Publishing House.

All session by Ts. Irfan Awang

Panel: Crossing the Translation Gap: What Moves Promising Research Towards Use?

COE

This panel moves from developing researchers to the pathway their research must navigate once it becomes promising. It should be the most practical translation conversation of the two days. 

Day 2

Scaling Innovation Ecosystems for a Borderless Economy. Earth Orbit and Beyond

Follow IDECS26

Hosted by

Organised by