Lloyd’s 5th Annual National Conference

Lloyd’s 5th Annual National Conference: ‘PharmaSpeak 2019’

23rd November, 2019

Lloyd Institute of Management & Technology (Pharm.) successfully conducted its “5th Annual National Conference PharmaSpeak-2019” themed “Exploration of Effective Pedagogical Tools for Augmented Learning in Pharmacy Education: Matching Industry Requirements” on Saturday 23rd November 2019 at its campus in Greater Noida. The event was conducted in collaboration of DPSRU and IPGA.

Shri Sudhansh Pant, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of India was the chief guest at the conference along with other eminent personalities as special guests namely Shri Atul Kumar Nasa (Deputy Drug Controller, Delhi & President, IPGA), Shri S.L. Nasa (Registrar Delhi Pharmacy Council), Prof. R. K. Khar (Principal, B.S. Anangpuria Institute of Pharmacy, Faridabad) and Prof. Harvinder Popli (Dean and Officiating Registrar, DPSRU, New Delhi) for the Inaugural function. Other important invitees to the conference included leading academic expert’s people from the Industry, Financial institutions and Regulatory bodies. 500 participants registered from more than 60 colleges across the country. To meet the conference objectives the sessions were conducted as two meticulously designed panel discussions an “Art of Living” session, a motivational lecture and scientific poster competition.

The one day conference commenced with lamp lightening and saraswati vandana followed by welcome address of Prof. Vandana Arora Sethi (Group Director, Lloyd). She elaborated the theme of the event and need to match the industry requirements for better career opportunities for students. She also apprised the audience about the success of Lloyd group in implementation of Lloyd Industry Focused Training (LIFT), Annual Job Fests and efforts being done in the direction of conceptualizing courses integrating Pharmacy Education and Analytics. Dr. Vandana said there are potent questions related to pharmacy and healthcare that can be effectively answered by using Artificial Intelligence and other Analytical tools.

Shri Atul Kumar Nasa, Deputy Drug Controller, Delhi & President, IPGA in his Inaugural Address on “Desired Professional Attributes of Pharmacy Graduates” reiterated the social responsibility of the pharmacy professionals on the issues of Drug Addiction, easy access to such drugs, the menace of self-medication and urgent need to discourage this practice. He advised the young pharmacy graduates to hone their skills in order to meet the expectations of the industry as the industry demands much from them in today’s growing scenario.

The keynote address was given by Prof. Roop K. Khar, (Principal, B. S. Anangpuria Institute of Pharmacy) on the subject “Pathway to Outcome Based Education.” Prof. Khar said that the core is “how to deliver in the classroom”. Adding that Outcome Based Education flows from pedagogy. The area of education has evolved and the diversity in students makes it important to impart the learning to the students in a way that is modern, updated and relevant. We must inter-relate and link the knowledge base like pharmacy, basic science and biomedical sciences. He advised the students that the skills must be imbibed and it is for students to take a holistic approach on skills and knowledge. He stressed that the teachers must not deliver a monologue rather it should be a dialogue which gives students a chance to express their views and understanding. Develop the concept of research in students so that they start early.

The chief guest, Shri Sudhansh Pant, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of India established with certainty that there is a huge scope of the Pharmacy in India. He said that in collaboration with Pharmacy Council of India (PCI), the imperative changes in course curriculum to meet the changing scenarios of the industry are being planned. Mr. Pant asserted that since the pharmacy graduates mostly join the industry, it becomes necessary to align education with the demands of the industry. Quoting Mr. Pant, “The pharmacy industry of India is growing, and the contribution is mostly in the form of exports to multiple countries. Thus, furthering the growth opportunities. In fact, Pharmacists constitute the major chunk of healthcare professionals after nurses and doctors at about 8-9 lakhs (estimated figures). By becoming Community Health Providers under the government initiatives, modern medical professionals other than doctors can advise to a certain extent which increases the opportunities for pharmacists.” Sharing the quote “Excellence is not a skill, it is an attitude”, Mr. Pant, advised the students to develop that attitude and not to fear failure as every failure has a lot of learning in return. He also focused on entrepreneurship in the current generation and highlighted the importance of job creation which will be more satisfying.

On the occasion two important publications of Lloyd Institute of Management and Technology (Pharm.), the annual magazine “Lloyd Reflections” and “Souvenir-Cum- Abstract-Book” of PharmaSpeak-2019, were released by the esteemed Chief Guest Shri Sudhansh Pant, Guest of Honor Shri Atul Kumar Nasa, Prof. Roop K. Khar and Special Guests Shri S L Nasa and Prof. Harvinder Popli.

Four awards to felicitate the outstanding achievements of students, alumni and teachers were also presented.

“Master Blaster”-The award was given to Nilay Kumar Nandi (B. Pharm) who bagged the

highest salary package in Job Fest 2019 at campus placements.

“Footprints of Lloyd”- The award for the most distinguished alumni went to Mr. Sandeep Kumar Mishra (Director, Florencia Healthcare) an alumnus of 2005 batch, of Lloyd Institute of Management and Technology (Pharm).

“Star Performer”–The award was given to Sakshi Sharma (B. Pharm) for being the

topper in academics and co-curricular activities in 2019.

“Lifetime Achievement Award”- The award was conferred upon Prof. Harvinder Popli (Dean and Officiating Registrar, DPSRU) for her exemplary contributions to the profession as an academician and for her efforts in bridging the gap with the Industry through collaborations.

The heart of the conference was the two panel discussions which were meticulously designed with appropriately selected moderators and panelists to address the theme.

The first panel discussion was themed “Break the Wheel: Reinvent the Classroom”. The discussion was moderated by Prof. Kamla Pathak (University of Medical Science, Saifai) and the panelists included distinguished academicians Prof. Kanchan Kohli (Jamia Hamdard), Prof. G.T. Kulkarni (Amity University), Dr. ZeenatIqbal (Jamia Hamdard), Dr. Varsha Pradhan (DPSRU), Dr. Gaurav Jain (Jamia Hamdard), Ms. Chitra Gupta (LIMT).

 

The key points of discussion were:

  • Classroom challenges for the current teachers

  • Advantages and Limitations of Conventional teaching practices

  • Shift in focus from teaching centric to learner centric education

  • Modern pedagogical tools or smart tools

  • Need to calibrate the teaching content and methodology for the current scenario

  • Possibility of using cloud as an interactive teaching tool

  • Suitability of Uniform curriculum implemented by PCI to cater to the needs of Regional students and scope for implementing modern pedagogical tools

The deliberations from the panelists were well applauded by the audience.

The 2nd Panel Discussion was on the theme “Four Pillars of Sustainability in Research Driven Higher Education-Regulators, Institutes, Funding Bodies and Industry (RIFI)”.The discussion was moderated by Mr. Dhiraj Nanda (Nutrilife India Ltd.) and the panelists included representatives from these different bodies including Prof. Harvinder Popli (DPSRU), Dr. Dhananjay Sable (CDSCO, Govt. of India), Prof. Devendra Pathak (Uni. of Medical Science, Saifai), Dr. Rajesh Tripathi (DRDO, Govt. of India), Dr. Saurabh Arora (Arbro Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd.), Dr. Smriti Khatri (Turacoz Healthcare Solutions).

Key issues discussed were:

  • Industry academia collaborative role-Challenges and solutions towards bringing about a change and turn around the current situations

  • Industry academia gaps and ways and means of bridging this gap.

  • Real time challenges and constraints being faced by academicians in institutional research and suggested remedies.

  • Challenges faced while processing regulatory clearances and seeking funds for advance research

  • Organizational procedures for research driven higher education and government initiatives in this direction.

  • How to select a research project and commercialize it

The audience witnessed some interesting deliberations from the panelists and also cleared their queries during the open forum.

Post lunch there was a session on “Know your brain”, by Mr. Lokesh Pandey (Faculty, Art of Living Foundation).The session featured various stress elimination techniques to aid a better quality of life and peace of mind. Mr. Pandey focused on the importance of meditation, yoga, exercises for working professionals and students.

Another dynamic motivational lecture “Cross That Line” was conducted by Ms. Sonia Jaitly (Psychotherapist & Faculty, LLOYD). Where she stated that, "Your success is as good as your preparation". Coaching students on the importance of perseverance, identifying goals & keeping oneself motivated to achieve goals even in the face of adversaries.

Post lunch scientific session comprised of poster presentation. 141 abstracts were received for scientific poster session. The abstracts were reviewed by the scientific committee comprising of four members and 5 abstracts were rejected by the review committee as they did not meet the required criterion. Rests were published in the abstract book cum souvenir for the conference. The presentations were evaluated by well recognized academicians – Dr Tanveer Naved (Joint Head, Pharmacy Department, Amity University), Dr Mallikarjun (Principal, IIMT College) and Dr Monika Sachdeva (Principal, RKGIT).

The conference concluded with Prize distribution for Poster contest and Vote of Thanks.

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