Apeejay School of Management professor receives South African patent grant

Professor Anuj Kumar, Assistant Professor, Apeejay School of Management (ASM), Dwarka, recently received a grant on a patent titled “A novel model on employees’ wellness for enhanced business turnover”. The patent was granted by the Republic of South Africa under the Patent Act 57 of 1978.

“The patent relates to how employees’ wellness contributes to business turnover. The idea took shape amid the pandemic which had a negative impact on people’s well-being, which, in turn, affected productivity. This was the prime motivation behind this patent,” Professor Kumar said.

The patent is the first-ever for ASM. “I am grateful for the kind leadership of Dr Alka Munjal, director, ASM, who provided all her support and motivation during this patent work,” Professor Kumar expressed.

The team, which included scholars from other universities, researched the topic for a year. “The main objective was to provide a method for employees’ wellness for business turnover including education, fitness goals, activity rewards, and so on, to encourage and maximise employee participation,” he said.

Professor Kumar holds the position of a second inventor/author for the patent grant. Addressing the reason behind applying for a South African patent, he added, “We applied for an international patent in South Africa because the duration to process and grant it is relatively less in comparison to India.” The patent was filed on February 17, 2022, accepted on March 9, 2022, and granted on April 28, 2022.