The fifth session of the conference, in its fourth edition, was held under the title "Developing Pharmacy Education to Keep Up with the Times and the Needs of Modern Industries."

Dr Amira Abdel-Motaal, dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy at Galala University, highlighted the need to develop pharmacy education in Egypt to align with the changing job market in light of modern developments.

She noted that Egypt has 23 public and 26 private pharmacy schools, all of which have seen significant advancements over the past decade. However, these schools only offer two main pharmacy programmes.

She highlighted that the market requires further development, such as incorporating distinctive features into each programme by equipping students with marketing, entrepreneurship, law, and media skills. The Pharmacy Sector Committee has worked on implementing this principle.

Abdel-Motaal presented several models already implemented in top-ranked Western universities that offer additional programmes alongside the PharmD degree in fields like business, artificial intelligence, and management.

She added that national universities are integrating such programmes, including Galala University, which offers a PharmD degree in four or five years, combined with an MBA.

She also pointed out that Singapore, a leading country in pharmaceutical manufacturing, has developed its programmes to include pharmacy as an additional course for students of other disciplines, such as law and commerce. There is also an interdisciplinary education model where pharmacy, medical, and nursing students study clinical cases together.

Abdel-Motaal stressed the importance of collaborating with the industry sector, not just for research but by involving it in the teaching process, a practice being implemented at Galala University this year with the participation of eight leaders from the pharmaceutical industry in teaching pharmacy students.

Practical solutions
 

Prof. Dr Maher El-Domiaty, president of the Committee of the Pharmaceutical Studies Sector, agreed with these points, noting that Egypt now has 68 pharmacy schools, with the most prominent feature of the current pharmacy education system being specialized training.

 He pointed out that the pharmacy schools’ curricula now include biotechnology, nanotechnology, clinical studies, and other courses and training programmes that prepare students for the job market.

Regarding the reasons for the delay in linking academia and the pharmaceutical industry as expected, El-Domiaty said that differences in priorities between education, research, and profitability, weak support for scientific research, and lack of coordination between companies, factories, and academic institutions are key challenges.

The limited communication between factories and academic entities further complicates the situation, he added.

El-Domiaty proposed several ideas to address these challenges, including providing nine-month internships for students at pharmaceutical factories, sponsoring international study missions to support research efforts, and involving market leaders in designing educational content that meets the industry's evolving needs.

He also stressed the importance of partnerships between pharmaceutical industry leaders and universities, launching joint research projects, and establishing technology transfer offices in universities, business incubators, and research centres.

He called for focusing on applied research, developing new pharmaceutical forms and drug uses, addressing manufacturing challenges, conducting clinical trials, and updating curricula. Additionally, he recommended creating digital platforms and communication channels and highlighted ethical standards in pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Linking pharmaceutical industry and education
 

Dr Ali Amer, medical director for North Africa at AbbVie, spoke about the pharmaceutical industry's requirements in the job market and its connection to academic education.

He stated that the pharmaceutical industry, in light of significant advancements, seeks graduates who possess knowledge in advanced fields, such as artificial intelligence, which is playing an important role in accelerating drug production and testing.

He also highlighted the importance of ensuring direct patient access to medications, advancing clinical trials, good clinical practice, and virtual experiments.

Furthermore, he underscored the importance of integrating digital health with “telemedicine” and developing skills in marketing and pharmaceutical health technology.

Role of the Egyptian Drug Authority
 

In her speech, Dr Rasha Zyada, assistant chairman of the Egyptian Drug Authority for Technical Development and Capacity Building, discussed the capacity-building strategy adopted by the Egyptian Drug Authority since its inception.

She cited the Continuous Education Centre in the pharmaceutical sector, which provides services to pharmaceutical companies and pharmacy schools. Over three years, the centre has trained 35,000 professionals from different pharmaceutical companies.

This led to the introduction of internship programmes for pharmacy students, which had a positive impact on the companies and the students.

Zyada confirmed that the private sector played a significant role, providing training opportunities for 9,000 students in companies.

She mentioned that 130 factories collaborated to train over 7,000 students who chose to take their internship year in these factories. This collaboration, supported by the Egyptian Drug Authority and the Chamber of Pharmaceutical Industry, is happening for the first time.

She also highlighted that students will receive systematic training to acquire practical knowledge without overburdening the factories participating in the programme. This will benefit companies by having graduates ready to enter the job market immediately after graduation.

Dr Zyada also discussed the Drug Tour programme, which allows students to experience the entire drug journey from the initial manufacturing stages to the final product. This programme will positively impact the market, the pharmaceutical sector, and, most importantly, the students.