Novi Sad Faculty of Pharmacy successfully educates future pharmacists, medical biochemists, nurses, physiotherapists, doctors of science, specialists. Its goal is to be recognised as a leading educational institution for health professionals in the 21st century
After the first 10 years, we can proudly say that we are educating really high-quality health staff. We are flexible, we have attractive and current content in the curriculum and we manage to respond to rapid changes in society. Our knowledge has no expiry date ~ says professor Jovanović Lješković.
How do you position yourself as an educational institution for the 21st century. What is the formula for your success?
The pandemic has reminded us how important it is to have high quality health personnel. We feel a great responsibility for our students who need to be ready for the 21st century healthcare system. Good quality education is crucial for good staff, so educational institutions must be flexible, respond to rapid changes in society and offer attractive and current content in their curriculum. It is extremely important today that faculties have good leadership with a clear vision and mission. In that sense, our faculty continuously invests in teaching staff, equipment, digitalisation and, most importantly, in the selection of current curricula and practice.
What are the key benefits of the curriculum you offer? Can you explain that with the example of the pharmacy study programme?
In addition to basic professional subjects, students also have the subjects Rare Diseases, Biological Drugs and Immunotherapy, Pharmacogenomics and Personalized Medicine, Oncology Pharmacy, Drug Addiction and Abuse, Pharmacoeconomics, Marketing, Professional Development, the Digital Pharmacy, and so on. I think that we are not only the first in the region but also among the first in Europe to introduce the subject of the Digital Pharmacy because it is important for our students to know what is happening in the field of digitalisation, telepharmacy and the application of artificial intelligence in medicine and pharmacy.
Serbia is intensively positioning itself on the map of countries that include biomedicine, biotechnology and digitalisation of health on their agenda
We bring students closer to all the different worlds of pharmacy already in the early years of our courses, through early exposure to various career opportunities and the introduction of courses aimed at professional development. The curriculum itself is designed so that students choose and create their own path through it. Compulsory subjects are followed by narrow professional and elective courses that open the door to specific areas of pharmacy.
Each of our subjects is like a building element, like a brick, say. And the final product of our five-year curriculum will be a typical house, known as the 21st century pharmacist. Inside the house, the obligatory subjects will form the foundations and load-bearing walls, while with their personal choice of professional and elective subjects, each student will create and decorate their own pharmaceutical interior.
Enrolment time approaching? How to choose an occupation for the 21st century?
You need to think of your own interests and motivation and keep in mind that science is making incredible advances. Just look at what is being done in the fields of pharmacy, medicine, molecular biology, genetics, today we are all talking about mRNA, gene therapy, immunotherapy, biological drugs, personalized medicine, the use of artificial intelligence in diagnosis, prediction, disease prevention or choice of therapy. The possibilities in the area we call “Life Sciences” are amazing. We are pleased that Serbia has lately been intensively positioning itself on the map of countries that include biomedicine, biotechnology and the digitalisation of health on their agenda, and this is the chance for young people.