Marwadi University signs 3 MoUs to make its pharma students industry ready

Marwadi University (MU) in Gujarat has signed memoranda of understanding (MoU) with three organisations – Almelo Private Limited, Lifeactivus Private Limited and Life Sciences Sector Skill Development Council (LSSSDC) – in a bid to enhance the knowledge of its students in the fields of science and pharmaceuticals through industry-specific learnings.

“The constant demand of providing advanced learning has always been MU’s pathway. With the industry gradually becoming demand-based and skill-focused, it becomes necessary to train students as per the changing trends in order to contribute towards the nation and the society as a whole,” said Nareshkumar Jadeja, registrar, MU.

The EY-FICCI report 2021 suggests that with the contribution of medical science to the society, especially during the pandemic, the pharma industry in India could witness a growth of up to 12% in the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) and become a $130 billion industry by 2030.

Almelo Private Limited, one of the companies MU collaborated with, is focused on the last semester undergraduate and postgraduate students. It would provide training within the scope of organic syntheses, analyses of synthesised products and real industrial scenarios. It would also boost research in the varsity through its Faculty Industry Immersion Programme. This would enable a healthy exchange of research papers, projects and innovative methodologies.

Lifeactivus Private Limited focusses on research skills and technicalities. It aids in the understanding of drugs, impurities, their usage and other associated scope of drug design in the pharma industry. This MoU aims at providing exposure to BSc and MSc students by giving them the opportunity to explore and understand the growing significance of research and development, start-up culture and entrepreneurship in focus areas like drug detection and expansion.

Keeping in mind the demand-supply imbalance in the medical domain, the Department of Pharmaceuticals at MU aims to fill the vacuum by providing its students choices to empower themselves, sharpen their skills and become industry ready.

The MoU signed with the LSSSDC ensures that last semester B.Pharm, BSc, MSc, BE and BTech students are able to make use of the collaboration by opting for subjects from LSSSDC’s domain as an elective paper during their course.

“The New Education Policy emphasizes the integration of skilling and education. The Pharmacy Council of India has also recommended in its prescribed curriculum of B.Pharm that students can take up training from such councils. It’s a great opportunity for us to join hands with LSSSDC as a skilling partner for value-added internships and job-oriented programmes,” said Lalji Baldaniya, principal, faculty of Pharmacy, Marwadi University.