Building a humane society through excellence in education and healthcare, Nitte College of Pharmaceutical Sciences (NCOPS) envisions developing as a center of excellence that imparts quality education in pharmacy. The institution aims to generate competent, skilled manpower to face the scientific and social challenges with a high degree of credibility, integrity, and ethical standards. The higher education sector is rapidly adapting to digital learning and online teaching technology, which has revolutionized the delivery of education and research. NCOPS is reorganizing and upgrading the teaching and learning methods by training the teachers and the students to use and understand online platforms effectively. Students are trained appropriately to use technology and interact efficiently with peers and mentors.
Scaffolding student learning by breaking the task into smaller and more manageable parts, we have implemented Focus Group Discussions. This initiative has empowered students to develop ideas and concepts, discuss ideas with each other, enable them to explore and understand concepts systematically, says Dr. Kusum.
One of the key pedagogies adopted by NCOPS is to encourage the students to design and fabricate advanced pharmaceutical evaluating tools and instruments through experiential learning. The students are assigned various small projects which enable them to apply their theoretical knowledge to practical endeavours.
Students are given hands-on experience in using and operating state-of-the-art pharmaceutical equipment and instruments appropriately. These practical experiences enable them to design and evaluate various dosage forms with prominence to the regulatory aspects.
The Proficiency Development Cell and Language Lab at NCOPS focus to train the students holistically not only to cater to the needs of the pharmaceutical industry but also to showcase their technological expertise effectively. NCOPS has established MOUs with reputed pharmaceutical industries like Manipal Natural Extracts Pvt. Ltd., Almora Botanica and Centre of Excellence (G-CEIP) in Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), reducing the gap between the industry expectations and academic offerings.
Industry institute partnership cell at NCOPS provides a platform through which the students can reach out to veteran and successful pharma professionals. At NCOPS, we believe that discussing the success stories of renowned personalities is an effective way to discover and leverage the entrepreneurship potential in a student, to glean critical lessons, as well as helpful tips. Efforts are in progress towards creating a Technology Transfer Incubation Centre in collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry, to foster research activities and innovative skills among the students. The students are also trained at Jan Aushadhi pharmacy, which promotes awareness about cost-effective medicines and makes quality generic medicines available at affordable prices through a public-private partnership.
NCOPS placement cell aspires to bridge the journey of a student from academics to their chosen prospective pharma sector. The placement cell gives training in highly innovative and industry-oriented best practices for boosting their employability.
NCOPS has developed various strategies for further growth and excellence. The key focus is on implementing innovative teaching methodologies and providing students with a better experience in dealing with the industry. The institute has come up with a ‘Z to A Approach’, which attempts to explain the application part of a given concept first. The idea is to develop an interest in students, which then leads to a better understanding of the concept and creates a long-lasting memory and correlation of the concept. The comprehensive understanding of the chemical basis of drug action equips our pharmacy students with the expertise to answer the ‘why’ and ‘how’ related to drug actions. This exhaustive knowledge makes a pharmacist different from a chemical expert among healthcare professionals.
“There is a gradual transformation of the Indian education system from the traditional approach to the new era of digital learning. Integration of information technology in education will be further accelerated and use of digital tools will eventually become an integral component of our education system” concludes Dr. Kusum.
About Dr. V Kusum Devi, Principal of Nitte College of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Dr. V. Kusum Devi, the Principal of Nitte College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, has been a consistent achiever throughout her career. Her remarkable academic excellence is reflected by her standing first at Bangalore University during her education. She is being known to excel by creating benchmarks in academics and research.
Dr. Kusum has published more than a hundred research papers in several high-impact factors National and International Journals. She has presented her research findings in many prestigious National and International Conferences in addition to delivering invited talks in key areas of Pharmaceutical Sciences in India and abroad. Dr. Kusum has held prestigious positions such as Treasurer of APTI, Co-ordinator for Academic Staff College, BOS- Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Science. She has also worked as a consultant subject expert for Abbott Laboratories Limited, a Canadian Multinational pharma company. As an active Researcher, she has procured many grants and most of her studies are recognized by the pharma industry. Her projects are funded by prestigious national and international institutions in the pharmaceutical sector.