Dr. Neeraj Mahindroo is the Dean of the Faculty of Science and Health Science at MIT World Peace University. A medicinal chemist with an experience of over 25 years in academia and research, he earned his B.Pharm, M.Pharm. and an Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences specialising in Medicinal Chemistry from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India. He joined as a lecturer in pharmaceutical chemistry at the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar. Thereafter, he moved to the National Health Research Institutes, Taiwan for his Postdoctoral studies to work on drug discovery for diabetes and cancer.

Dr. Mahindroo joined Jaypee University of Information Technology, Waknaghat and has also worked at Shoolini University and the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies. His current research interests are in drug discovery for neglected diseases, neurological disorders, and cancer. Furthermore, he has successfully guided six Ph.D. and nine M.Pharm. students and is currently guiding two Ph.D. students. He has published more than 49 peer-reviewed papers and has five patents and ten patent applications to his credit, including one US patent. He has presented his work at several international conferences, including the Gordon Research Conference and the Nature Chemical Biology Symposium. He is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters and was a member of the Expert Group of ICMR for the review of monographs on medicinal plants, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) National Committee on R&D and Innovation and a member of the sub-group on Healthcare and Chemicals.

MIT World Peace University

You have held key positions at education institutes throughout your professional career. What keeps you connected with the Education Sector and how has your experience been so far with the institute?

The opportunity you get to interact with the next generation of budding professionals and their energy and enthusiasm keeps my enthusiasm and energy levels high. On the one hand, you are interacting with young minds and on the other, you are also interacting with the top professionals in the industry and academia to shape the curriculum and direction of education in my field. I have been with MITWPU for about 15 months, and the journey has been full of learning, new experiences, new initiatives, and hope. The university has created a unique space for itself in the country.

Being the Head of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences- what are your roles and responsibilities towards the students?

My role is to ensure that we deliver the best education in the field of pharmaceutical sciences through strong fundamentals and a futuristic curriculum while ensuring holistic development of the students as lifelong learners with life skills and values to not only help them develop as knowledgeable and skilful professionals but also as conscientious and empathetic human beings.

Do you have any extracurricular activities/ programs to enhance the skills of the students or expose them to real-world challenges?

The program has extracurricular and cocurricular activities to enhance the knowledge, skills (technical and life skills), creativity, and consciousness of the students. Experiential learning is an important part of pedagogy followed by the department. We have peace and yoga programs that help in imbibing the core values of ethics and integrity, discipline, critical thinking, transparency, and peace. Our Rural Immersion Program exposes students to real-life challenges being faced by people residing in rural areas, where 70% of India resides, as well as the traditional and innovative solutions they are following. The programs like R.I.D.E. (Research, Innovation, Design, and Entrepreneurship) and Hackathon ignite the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship in students and nurture problem-solving skills. 

How does the curriculum of the Department of Pharmaceutical Science ensure that the students are being prepared for the future?

The Department has an Advisory Board with members holding senior leadership positions in industry and academia. This strategic advisory body helps identify the future trends and technologies in the industry to make it part of the academic journey of our students. The Board of Studies has senior academician, technocrats from top industries in the field, human resource managers, and alumni who help design the curriculum while complying with the Pharmacy Council of India mandates but also ensuring that components that would prepare our students for the future are added on to the curriculum. The pedagogy followed focuses on preparing life-long learners so that students are prepared for the VUCA world. Leaders from academia and industry working on cutting-edge areas are invited regularly to interact with students to share the advances and future trends in the field. 

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How do you try to bring in a practical approach towards subjects and make it industry-oriented?

Experiential learning is an integral part of the pedagogy followed at the department. The curriculum is well-balanced with theoretical and practical training in the well-equipped labs. Project-based learning helps students understand the importance of each component of the project and the importance of working as a team. The industry internship is an important part of the curriculum, along with the industrial and hospital visits spread across the duration of the programs. The uniquely designed Practise School allows students to learn the nuances of community and hospital pharmacy by spending two days a week shadowing healthcare professionals in a hospital or a community pharmacy in their 7th semester. The student projects are aligned to impart the skill sets required for their dream job roles in the industry. Talks by industry professionals at regular intervals throughout the semester further ensure industry orientation.

What are the interventions and approaches you bring in apart from the curriculum to train/teach the students?

We have several initiatives in pedagogy and beyond classroom learning have been introduced to improve the learning of students. The focus is on outcome-based education. The program and learning objectives are clearly defined for each subject and activity. The learning outcomes are measured based on a clearly defined rubric which is shared with students beforehand so that they understand the evaluation criteria. The attainment levels are assessed to measure the progress in learning and to improve the teaching-learning process. Flip classrooms, project-based learning, audio-visual aids, etc. are part of pedagogy. The focus is on developing problem-solving skills, and critical and design thinking. Bloom’s taxonomy framework is used to assess learning outcomes at different cognitive levels. 

What would you like people to know about your institute they may not know?

MITWPU and the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences focus on the holistic development of students. Technological skills and life skills are given equal importance to prepare lifelong learners with empathetic attitudes, emotional intelligence, and critical thinking. There are opportunities for research and innovation. Entrepreneurship is promoted through programs like RIDE, Hackathons, and Cocreation workshops. The Technology Business Incubator helps incubate the innovative ideas of students and nurture startups. The competent faculty mentors and well-equipped labs give students an opportunity to test their ideas. The industry and academic connections of the School and the locational advantage of Pune as a knowledge and startup hub further help in giving a unique advantage to students. The interdisciplinary environment of the university, with 12 schools and 33 departments from all spectrums of science, engineering, liberal studies, and business, opens up the horizon for the students.

What do you see as the greatest strengths of (Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences)?

The greatest strengths of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences are competent and dedicated faculty, well-equipped labs, functional industry and academic MoUs, over 1800 well-placed and successful alumni across the world, an interdisciplinary environment, and unique programs like Rural Immersion, National Academic Immersion, Peace, and Yoga programs. A history of over 25 years with a track record of being among the top-ranked institutions.

What are some of the biggest challenges you see, both for higher education in general and for (the Department of Pharmaceutical Science) specifically?

The biggest challenge for higher education in the pharmaceutical sector is a dated curriculum that needs an urgent update. The curriculum is very heavy, with over 210 credits in a 4-year UG course, thus limiting the ability of students to learn beyond the curriculum. The Pharm D programme is still following the annual system. New technologies and science are rapidly changing the field of pharmaceutical sciences, so unless we keep pace with the change, the industry will face a big skill gap, thus impacting the status of the country as the “Pharmacy of the World”. Interdisciplinary learning and life skills need more emphasis. Biologics are becoming increasingly important and breakthroughs in genomics and personalised medicine are changing healthcare approaches. Higher education needs to keep pace with changes to stay relevant.

Any suggestions you would like to give to the current youth and the aspiring students?

The youth and aspiring students should focus equally on developing technical and life skills. Technology is changing fast, and new scientific discoveries are revolutionising healthcare. The pandemic also brought new challenges. Students should learn the skill of lifelong learning to be ready for the world. Emotional intelligence, empathy, critical thinking, teamwork, and strong communication are high on employers' priorities, so developing these skills will be important. Students should look for institutions that not only help them gain relevant technical knowledge but also develop life skills, thus preparing them for future careers.