The PHAR-IN consortium (538252-LLP-1-2013-1-BE-ERASMUS-EKA) consists of pharmacy faculties and industrial partners from countries of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), members of the European Association of Faculties of Pharmacy (EAFP, http://www. www.eafponline.eu/), together with a professional organisation representing industrial pharmacists, the European Industrial Pharmacists’ Group (EIPG, http://www.eipg.eu/). PHAR-IN is funded by the European Commission via its Education, Audio-visual and Culture Agency (EACEA, http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/index_en.php).
The aim of the project is to recruit a panel of industrialists and educationalists that will propose a list of competences and outcomes required for education in biotechnology for future and current employees in the pharmaceutical industry. These will then be ranked using Delphi methodology in importance by a wider panel of industrialists and academics (drawn in a first stage from EIPG and EAFP membership with a snowballing effect for recruitment of others). Using several rounds of the Delphi process, a consensual, hierarchal list of competences and outcomes will be produced and possible factoid competences removed. The list will then be used to adapt the education and training in biotechnology given at HEIs.
All information will be freely available, with no copyright or ownership issues involved, to other European organisations, associations, HEIs, big pharma, etc. wishing to produce similar courses. Through its European network of Member Associations, the European Industrial Pharmacists’ Group will advertise the results of the project to employees of the pharmaceutical industry. The European Association of Faculties of Pharmacy and the PHARMINE network will ensure dissemination to academics. In all cases dissemination will be through classical channels: websites, conference presentations, email newsletters, and journal articles.
This project will have a substantial impact on employees of the drug industry providing them with the skills they need in a fast-changing world. It will also improve the ability of the European industry to compete in the global pharmaceutical world. Ultimately the project will impact on the well-being of the European population through the R&D and production of safer, more effective, modern-day medicines.