Manprit says in the future, she intends to pursue her Masters and contribute more to the industry as pharmaceutical chemistry is the course that is meant for the job scope that she is venturing into now.
KUCHING: Manprit Kaur a/p Gurcharan Singh, an International Medical University (IMU) pharmaceutical chemistry graduate, is currently working as a Formulation Executive at Pharmaniaga Research Centre.
Her job scope is to develop generic medicines.
In the future, she intends to pursue her Masters and contribute more to the industry.
“Pharmaceutical chemistry is the course that is meant for the job scope that I am venturing into now.
Having the theoretical and practical exposure on both pharmaceutical science and chemistry during my degree assisted me to understand my task even better and perform better.
“Immediately after graduation, I got a job as contract staff in Merck Sharp & Dohme (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd under regulatory affairs.
It was a great exposure and learning experience for me in joining a multinational pharmaceutical company,” Manprit said, adding that working and studying are definitely two different worlds.
IMU provides a strong foundation in this area of expertise through its three-year programme BSc (Hons) in Pharmaceutical Chemistry which is accredited by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), UK.
The curriculum begins with foundation sciences in the early semesters, and extends to applied knowledge and skills associated with drug development activities in the later semesters.
Industrial attachment and research are essential components of the training in this programme.
The programme is delivered and taught by a team of local and overseas trained full-time lecturers, all of whom have PhD qualification and many of them with extensive working experience in various local and overseas industries.
To stay relevant to the industry, guest lecturers from relevant industries are also invited to share with the students the latest pharmaceutical practices.
To further enhance their skills, IMU’s students will also be guided by industrial supervisors during the industrial attachment.
In the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, many seniors as well as young faculty members have successfully secured external research fundings.
All the projects are multidisciplinary in nature, encompassing various areas of studies with multi-institutional collaboration.
This is extremely important because research projects will involve the generation of new scientific information and a review and understanding of the latest scientific literature.
This in turn will benefit our undergraduate and postgraduate students through knowledge sharing and information dissemination.
Some of IMU’s own graduates have extended their studies at MSc or PhD level within IMU as well as overseas universities.
Several of them have graduated and hold important positions in the pharmaceutical industry.
Those whose academic qualifications meet the criteria can continue to pursue the Master of Pharmacy programme at the University of Sydney or Curtin University.
They are given certain credit exemptions in the Master of Pharmacy programme.
The graduates from Master of Pharmacy degrees from these universities can register to practice as pharmacists in Australia and Singapore, but cannot register to practice as pharmacists in Malaysia at the moment.
The next commencement for the pharmaceutical chemistry programme is in February.
If you have a passion for chemistry, and have a particular interest working in the pharmaceutical industry, make an online application today and pursue this interesting and rewarding career in pharmaceutical chemistry.
If you have just completed your SPM and do not have pre-university qualification, consider enrolling in the one-year IMU Foundation in Science, the direct route for entry into any of the University’s local degree programmes.
The next intake is in January 2015.
For more information, please refer to www.imu.edu.my; email to [email protected]; or call IMU at 03-27317272.