My background...

I completed my bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from Luqman College of Pharmacy, Gulbarga, Karnataka, and my master’s degree in pharmaceutics from Birla Institute of Technology, Ranchi, Jharkhand. I then obtained a doctoral degree in the field of Controlled Release Formulations from JNT University, Hyderabad.

I started my academic career as an assistant professor in Bapatla College of Pharmacy, Bapatla, Andhra Pradesh in 1995 and subsequently rose to the position of Principal in 2006.

I am a member of professional bodies such as Indian Pharmaceutical Association (IPA) and Indian Pharmacological Society. I am also an advisory board member of Apogen Remedies Pvt. Ltd, a pharmaceutical company based in Hyderabad.

I received a fellowship from Association of Pharmacy and Biotechnology and a meritorious teacher award from JNT University, Kakinada.  I serve on the editorial boards of various journals, have authored 4 textbooks, have been granted 9 patents, and filed for 3 more.

My goals as a principal...

I believe that colleges should complement academic courses with co-curricular and extra-curricular courses aimed at developing soft skills that are required to succeed in a competitive world. Coming from rural backgrounds, the students do not have sufficient exposure to opportunities where they can learn these skills on their own. Apart from their academic courses, the students need access to value-added courses, online or in-person, to improve their overall potential to obtain and sustain successful careers.

Two such areas of skills development are problem solving and decision making – both individually and in a group setting. They need to learn how to apply scientific and statistical approaches to identifying problems, analyzing all aspects of the problem, exploring different solutions, selecting the best solution, and communicating that effectively. For example, techniques like SWOT analysis, using case studies of general problems. This will be useful not only in their careers, but also in their personal lives.

My thoughts on Aikyam...

Without a doubt, Aikyam is a good program with a sound framework and structure for the students to develop soft skills. It provides a good platform for the students to apply the pharma knowledge they acquire in their academic courses to find solutions that address societal problems in their communities. It can serve as a useful pre-cursor to the project work the senior students undertake as part of the curriculum.