Students of the Pharmaceutical Products Manufacturing degree at the Pompeu Fabra Institute in Badalona virtualize the processes carried out in the NutraResearch manufacturing plant. The objective is that students, both in training degrees and those who are studying Pharmacy at the University, can carry out internships in virtual classrooms, familiarizing themselves with the latest technology used by the industry.
NutraResearch group participates in an innovation and knowledge transfer project that aims to train future professionals in the pharmaceutical sector through the use of new technologies. Two students from the Manufacturing of Pharmaceutical, Biotechnological and Related Products degree at the Pompeu Fabra Institute in Badalona have started a project to virtualize the processes that are carried out at the NutraResearch manufacturing plant in Barberà del Vallès. Thanks to this innovative content, students, both in training degrees and those who are studying Pharmacy at the University, will be able to carry out internships in virtual classrooms located in the teaching centers themselves, familiarizing themselves with the latest technology used by the industry.
The project, under the name Virtualization and Digitization of educational content in pharmaceutical, chemical and biotechnological plants, is part of the Innova FP programme, of which the Pompeu Fabra Institute is a part. The Drug Development Service of the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Barcelona (UB) also collaborates in the project.
Under the coordination of the project tutor, Eduardo García, the students record the different processes for several weeks and later carry out a detailed description of the work protocols. The students who carry out the project, Gerard Armentero and Francisco José Jiménez, have previously completed training on recording 3D videos. The Peset i Alexandre Institute will also collaborate in editing content.
“We have a large classroom in our institute to practice using virtual technology, with all the necessary equipment. However, despite being lucky enough to have these facilities, something fundamental was missing: the content. For this we needed the collaboration of the industry, in order to transfer everything that is done in a manufacturing plant like NutraResearch, with cutting-edge technology, to virtual reality exercises. NutraResearch is one of the first companies that have shown themselves open to participating in the program”, explains Lorena Muñoz, coordinator of the Innova FP program.
“When we were asked to participate in the training program, it seemed like a great idea and we did not hesitate to join. We consider the collaboration of the industry very important in the training of future professionals and that is why we are always very involved in it”, explains the CEO, Gemma Casadevall, who in turn is a professor of the master’s degree in Pharmaceutical Technology at the University of Barcelona.
Having the latest technology both in development and in the manufacture of food supplements of the highest quality and under the standards of the pharmaceutical sector make NutraResearch one of the best options to show students how the industry in the sector works. “This proposal seems most interesting to us. The participation of the industry in training can solve the gap that often exists between the knowledge that students acquire in training centers and the skills that companies later need”, adds the Finance and People Director, Imma Pulido.