Curriculum Conclave “BEYOND CURRICULUM…” held at MCOPS
February 10, 2023
To commemorate the exuberant occasion of Diamond Jubilee, MCOPS conducts an array of events and programs which started off with the inauguration on 5 January 2023. As a part of Industry Institute Partnership Cell activity, a Curriculum Conclave entitled “BEYOND CURRICULUM” was conducted on 10 February 2023. The IIPC cell was instituted by the former Principal of MCOPS Dr N Udupa with the aim of bridging the gap between industry and academia. The previous conclave was held in 2016 and this year it has been organized as one of the major events in the diamond jubilee planner. The motto of this conclave was to discuss the expectations of the industry about the knowledge domain of the post graduates and the quality of current syllabus to meet this expectation.
The inaugural started with opening remarks by Dr Manthan Janodia, Professor and Head of Department of Pharmaceutical Regulatory Affairs and Management and the Co-coordinator of this conclave. Ms Parvathy Madhu invoked blessings for an auspicious start. Dr Narayana Sabhahit, Pro Vice Chancellor, Technical Sciences was the chief guest of the function. Vice Principal Dr Krishnamurthy Bhat delivered the welcome address and Principal Dr C Mallikarjuna Rao presented the overview of the session. During the chief guest address Dr Sabhahit acclaimed that MCOPS is very innovative since its inception and that they always work in a unique way. As Post graduate students were also a part of panel discussions to follow, he remarked that involvement of students in setting up the curriculum is a positive approach and MAHE is always open to progressive changes. The inauguration concluded with the vote of thanks proposed by Dr Suvarna Kini, Professor and Head, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry.
This was followed by panel discussion. The galaxy of experts included ten eminent people from industry from across the country.
● Dr Prakash Bhagav, USFDA., completed his bachelor's from Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences. His main tasks are related to Bioequivalence surveys and Bioanalytical assessment.
● Dr Raghavendra Shetty, Ecron Acunova, Manipal, is also involved in Bioanalytical studies and visits various companies or clients as a subject matter expert. He has also completed his bachelor's from Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences. He is among the first to graduate with a master's in Pharmaceutical Quality Assurance.
● Dr Vijay Kulkarni, Swalava Enterprises Pvt Ltd, Banglore, completed his bachelor's and masters from Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences. He started his research on Gene Delivery and is currently working in the Hot Melt Extrusion Area.
● Mr Sebastian Joseph, PharmLex, Noida, is a veterinarian by degree and is currently involved in Non-Clinical Regulatory Affairs. He has obtained his master's in Pharmacology and Toxicology. His main tasks are writing, compiling, reviewing, submitting, and response to UDFRA review.
● Dr Ravikumar T, Wockhardt, Aurangabad, obtained a bachelor's from Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences and his master's in Pharmaceutical Chemistry. He is mainly involved in New Drug Discovery.
● Mr Sanchit Nanda, Gilead, Mumbai, obtained his bachelor's in Life Sciences in Delhi, continued his studies in finance and is now involved in Commercial Execution and Digital Marketing.
● Dr Parima Desai, I.Q.V.I.A., Bangalore, obtained her degree in Molecular Biology and is now involved in Market Research. Her main task is to support various companies.
● Dr Prakash J M, Flemings Labs, Hyderabad, is a Chemical Engineer turned entrepreneur. He started his study in Polymers and specialty chemicals, followed by API.
● Mr Chandrashekhar K N, Biocon, Bangalore, is a Computer Science Engineer by degree but later shifted to Biotechnology. He is associated with Biocon for last 16 years in the field of Bioprocess Engineering.
● Dr Deepak M, Natural Remedies, Bangalore, is involved in Developing and implementing pricing strategies and evidence-based decision-making.
After the introduction session, Dr Manthan sought the opinion of the panelists on the questions previously shared with them. The first question asked by the host was about the trends currently shaping the industry. In answering these questions, the students were introduced to technology driven concepts such as Monoclonal Antibodies, Implications of removal of Disease-causing Genes, Scope in Veterinary Sciences and Cosmetics, methods to improve Response Time, ELISA, CRISPR, and a lot more. Dr Ravikumar T mentioned that the question to be answered through research is how to change a daily consumed dosage form to a monthly finished dosage form to a yearly taken dosage form.
After continued discussion on the previously provided questions, the last question was about entrepreneurship. Dr Vijay Kulkarni gave an explicit response in mother tongue, hoping to connect on a deeper level with the students, and told them to gain at least three years of work experience before they enter into the field of entrepreneurship. He also claimed that the market is brutal and that one will not be able to survive if not strong enough. Dr. Prakash J M commented that there were two types of students: ones who are intelligent and ones who are smart. Academic records will help the wise, but smarter ways will benefit the latter category.
The session ended with a thank you note, and the program continued at the department level in the afternoon. The breakout session was held in each department with one expert interacting with the staff, PG and PhD students of the department. To begin with, there was discussion on the relevance and lacuna of current syllabus and how to modify or add topics based on present industry demands. Later, the panelist responded to the queries put forth by post graduate students and research scholars.
This was followed by meeting of the panelists with the placement committee. They discussed the possible trends in the job sector and the HR expectations from students. This was followed by concluding meeting with Academic Development Committee, headed by the Principal Dr C Mallikarjuna Rao. The program ended with the felicitation of the panelists and capturing a group photograph.
Click here for photos.
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