After many years of partnering in various scientific, teaching and development activities, the University of Rijeka’s Senate has awarded JGL the status of a collaborative teaching institution for one of its constituent units, the Department of Biotechnology. Through this new form of collaboration, the two will actively promote the values of interconnecting science and business, innovation and transferring technologies and knowledge using a smart specialisation scheme, intended for both biotechnology students and JGL’s employees.
The University Senate approved the status of a collaborative teaching institution under its Rules of Procedure and evaluation process. The application was based on four strategic projects, which have already entered the implementation stage.
"The first project is aimed at establishing a GMP-certified laboratory for chemical analysis of pharmaceutical products at the Department of Biotechnology. The lab will perform regular analyses and stability testing on finished products as part of JGL’s routine QC processes. As far as we are aware, this will be the first GMP lab for testing drugs established within the academic community. The second project revolves around developing a lifelong learning programme, which will enable new and existing JGL employees to acquire new skills and certificates in the field of theoretical biomedical and pharmacology sciences at the Department of Biotechnology. The third one is JGL’s research project aimed at demonstrating the chemical equivalence and biological activity of seawater treated using technological processes. The final project focuses on developing a multidisciplinary scientific collaboration and working together on competitive scientific research projects”, explains Mate Poropat, Director of Pharmaceutical and Technical Operations at JGL.
Around HRK 1.6m has been invested in equipment, other resources and IT infrastructure for the University lab, over HRK 1.2m of which was provided by JGL. The Department of Biotechnology has also recruited new employees to make the lab fully functional and have it working at full capacity.
The GMP lab is currently in the process of obtaining a certificate from the Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices of Croatia (HALMED), in line with European regulations.
Since the very beginning, JGL has been involved in the work of the Department of Biotechnology and the establishment of its interdisciplinary study programmes. In addition, JGL’s experts have been sharing their knowledge and skills with generations of its students since 2009.
An especially important aspect of the collaboration has been the Mandatory Internship course, offered during the second year of the Biotechnology and Drug Research undergraduate programme.
We are also hoping to further expand our partnership in the future and become a collaborative scientific and teaching institution.