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Scholarship Sponsor Novartis Holds International Pharmacy Conference in Barcelona
On May 25, the Royal Academy of Pharmacy in Catalonia hosted the International Conference of Pharmacy with the theme "Opportunities and Threats for Europe: Health, Pharmaceutical Innovation, and Copies and Falsification of Drugs".
The conference was opened by several speakers, including Dr. Jesus Acebillo, President of Novartis; Dr Miquel Ylla-Català, President of the Catalan Academy of Pharmacy; Dr. Antoni Gilabert, Representative of the Catalan Minister of Health; and Professor Salvador Barberà, Director of the BSE Master in the Economics of Science and Innovation (MESI).
Professor Barberà used the opportunity to announce that the School will offer at least one Novartis-sponsored full tuition scholarship to a student in the MESI program for the 2007-2008 academic year. This new scholarship is offered in addition to over 40 full tuition scholarships available to applicants accepted to any of the BSE's four master programs.
Master Director Salvador Barberà Speaks at the Novartis-sponsored conference
The conference focused on the unique challenges faced by pharmaceutical companies European Union countries: competition offered by India, China, and the US, the falsification of medicine, the globalization of biomedical R&D, and the negative economic effects of drug imports and exports from the EU.
These same controversial issues will be addressed in the BSE MSc in the Economics of Science and Innovation. Professor Barberà states that the program will "enhance the ability of its students to discuss coherently important issues surrounding intellectual property, patents, and innovation."
Students in the MESI program will graduate well prepared for management careers in research centers, innovative firms, public administrations and intermediate institutions geared toward promoting Research and Development activities. Says Professor Barberà, "The issues currently at stake are big topics in science, and they are topics we expect students to learn about in our master and know about in their lives and careers."
The program will also examine the more general economic challenges faced by science and technology, the anticipated difficulties and ways to solve them. It will also consider very carefully the nature the timing of the transfer processes from basic research results to applications.