Seminar on “Leading Edge in Pharmacy Education, Assessment and Future Opportunities”

The Department of Pharmacy, University of Asia Pacific (UAP), hosted a distinguished seminar titled “Leading Edge in Pharmacy Education, Assessment and Future Opportunities for UAP to become Excellent in Pharmacy Education” on 12th November 2025.
The keynote speaker, Dr. Imran Ahmed, Executive Director, Research and Development at American Regent, Inc., shared an insightful presentation focusing on a systemic approach to strengthen UAP’s position as a leader in advanced pharmacy education and research.

The session was graced by Prof. Dr. Qumrul Ahsan, Vice Chancellor, and Prof. Dr. Mohiuddin Ahmed Bhuiyan, Dean, School of Pharmacy. The seminar was presided over by Prof. Dr. Mohammad Shahriar, Head, Department of Pharmacy.
Dr. Ahmed, who has an exceptional career across leading global pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer, Novartis, Alcon, and Alcami, emphasized the mission of the department to align with UAP’s vision of being “Committed to Excellence” through “Being Leaders and Building Leaders.” With over 30 scientific publications and 5 patents, he illustrated how innovation and collaboration can transform academic pharmacy in Bangladesh. He outlined the current state of UAP Pharmacy under three developmental stages- Maturing, Developing, and Emerging- and proposed strategies to advance infrastructure, foster industry-academia partnerships, and establish career counseling and placement services.

Highlighting the capability gap between current curricula and global industry trends, Dr. Ahmed recommended integrating Quality by Design (QbD) principles, enhancing faculty development, and introducing adaptive curricula that prepare students for emerging therapeutic fields. He also discussed prerequisites for launching a Pharm.D. program at UAP, emphasizing reskilling, facility expansion, and curriculum redesign.
Dr. Ahmed proposed a five-year roadmap aimed at achieving quick wins and sustainable excellence through:
• Integration of modern educational technologies
• Cross-disciplinary collaboration
• Structured research and faculty training programs
• Active partnership with international professional bodies like AABPS (American Association of Bangladeshi Pharmaceutical Scientists)
Both Prof. Dr. Mohiuddin Ahmed Bhuiyan and Prof. Dr. Qumrul Ahsan commended Dr. Ahmed’s strategic insights and encouraged further collaborative initiatives to implement his vision.

The active participation and thoughtful engagement of all faculty members of Department of Pharmacy made the session highly interactive and impactful. Finally, the event concluded with remarks from Prof. Dr. Mohammad Shahriar, who expressed gratitude to Dr. Ahmed and emphasized the importance of adopting these strategic recommendations to strengthen the department’s academic and research standing in the global pharmaceutical landscape.