The first pharmaceutical summer program, ‘Create Ideas, Generate Medicine,’ opened at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in Fars Province on August 29.
“The program creates an innovative platform where young talent interested in a pharmaceutical career is identified,” said university chancellor Mohammad Hadi Imanieh.
The first batch will complete the week-long intensive program on September 3. Majority of the participants are university students in the field of pharmacy.
“Team work and research is vital to bridge the gap between domestic production and imports in the pharmaceutical sector,” Imanieh said, referring to remarks by Health Minister Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi that 50% of medicine in the country is produced using local raw materials, and the remaining is imported.
Given the climate of Fars Province and the possibility to cultivate over 100 herbal species, the drugs industry could be beneficial to the economy by helping create jobs and boosting national scientific capacities, reports Borna News Agency.
Vice-chancellor for research and technology, Dr. Basir Hashemi, said the program “is a stepping stone for applied research and potentials in production of effective medication.”
“Self-sufficiency in new technologies is not far-fetched as national policies are in line with developing and harnessing youth talent,” he said.
“Twenty-four eligible students were admitted to the program after passing written tests and interviews,” said Dr. Abdolali Mohaqeqzadeh, head of the university’s Center for Developing Medicinal Plants Technologies and Traditional Medicine.
The program aims to promote “in a simple and effective manner” production of drugs of high quality and at lower prices. It provides an opportunity for high school students and college freshmen interested in pursuing a pharmacy degree. In addition to career opportunities, participants will be familiarized with the latest methods and trends in the pharmaceutical sector, Mohaqeqzadeh said.
The summer program has a unique approach to creativity and thinking, said head of the new School of Pharmacy, Dr. Soleyman Mohammadi Samani.
Referring to the policies set by the Leader, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei to reduce dependence on oil revenues and move in the direction of domestic production and research, he said, “The school is an experimental project that will provide a comprehensive map of the existing national capacities in the field that can be effectively incorporated into the educational system.”
