Pharmaceutical Engineering Degree

Pharmaceutical engineering is a profession that specializes in the use of life sciences and engineering to study, develop, test, and manufacture new drugs and treatments. The Pharmaceutical Engineering program (Ingénieur d’État) is the first of its kind (worldwide) to serve the pharmaceutical industry based on the United States Standards for engineering.

The program trains the next generation of engineers in the pharmaceutical industry to support the latest advances in drug discovery, drug development and manufacturing, drug delivery, personalized medicine, drug delivery and medical devices, clinical trials powered by engineering, computational thinking and digital simulation, artificial intelligence.

Program Description:

• A new pedagogy in cutting-edge immersive learning environment using Dassault Systems platforms (3D, AR/VR)
• Project-based learning for signature experiential learning throughout the program modules
• A three-year embedded student research experiences where students develop their own drugs with in-silico or in-vitro studies for validation
• A portfolio of major impactful industry internships/experiences (Biovia, Medidata, Pfizer, Moderna, and others)
• Promotion and support of student-led innovation and startups in pharmaceutical engineering
• Access to world-class innovative companies and health care systems in the United States
• Optimal fast-track pathways for Master and Doctoral studies in the United States (with significant savings in time and money and customized scholarships)
• Strong focus on local and international regulatory affairs
• Topnotch faculty and professionals from academia and industry

Typical Courses:

• Nano Manufacturing
• In Silico drug design and manufacturing
• Clinal trials and regulatory frameworks
• Multiscale Modeling and Simulation
• Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering
• Bioprocess Engineering
• Bioprinting
• Biochemical Engineering
• Management of Technology
• Pharmaceutical Business and Entrepreneurship
• Pharmacogenetics and Precision Medicine
• Emerging Technologies in Drug Discovery and Delivery

Industry Sectors:

• Pharmaceutics
• Biotechnology
• Regenerative Medicine
• Precision Medicine
• Cosmetology
• Internet of Things (IoT) and medical devices
• Pharma and biotechnology startups
• Drug regulatory agencies
• Health organizations and administration
• Management of industrial facilities and manufacturing
• Research laboratories in non-academic settings

The program in Pharmaceutical Engineering (3-year engineering degree) was developed by the College of Pharmacy at Mohammed VI University of Health Sciences (UM6SS), the College of Pharmacy at Long Island University (LIU), and the Department of Technology, Innovation, and Computer Science at Long Island University (LIU).

The objectives of this program are to educate and train students to become competent pharmaceutical engineers who will be able to:

• Advance research, discovery, drug development, precision medicine, and the healthcare services of the future.
• Contribute to applied science while being adapted to their social and economic environment and open to the world.
• Demonstrate the knowledge and understanding of core concepts and processes necessary for developing, testing, and manufacturing pharmaceutical drugs and therapeutic products.
• Identify and solve problems in healthcare that are relevant to pharmaceutical engineering and patient outcomes
• Develop entrepreneurial approaches to pharmaceutical engineering that drive innovation in healthcare, create socio-economic impact around the world, and advance medicine to the benefit of humanity
• Demonstrate the ability to carry out independent and collaborative work across the value chain of medical products from the research laboratories to commercialization
• Solve qualitative and quantitative problems in various emerging areas of pharmaceutical engineering, using appropriate laboratory experiments and computing techniques, including Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and Statistical Learning
• Perform experiments which involve making correct and appropriate use of a range of scientific equipment, keeping an accurate record of experimental work, and analyzing results, and reaching strategic recommendations and productive outcomes
• Communicate at an advanced level the results of both theoretical and experimental work in various forms including written reports, scientific papers, oral presentations, and poster presentations to various audiences
• Participate in community engagement locally and globally

The skills targeted by our College of Pharmacy are both general and professional skills.

General competencies:

• Professionalism
• Communication
• Teamwork and interdisciplinarity
• Scientific reasoning and critical thinking
• Autonomy in learning
• Leadership

Professional Competencies:

• Pharmaceutical engineering
• Community Service
• Practice and Operations Management

Specific Competencies:

Students will be able to:

• Develop their own portfolios for target compounds
• Contribute to the pharmaceutical industry with documented in-silico studies and in-vitro studies, their commercialization potentials and strategies, and their impact on society.
• Be cognizant of the drug regulatory agencies and especially the governing guidelines for the safe use of drugs and practice of medicine in the era of the new digital health.
• Solve real-world pharmaceutical engineering complex problems and challenges with consideration of public health, safety, legal, regulatory, cultural, social, environmental, sustainability, and economic factors

There is a huge demand for engineers in the Pharmaceutical Engineering. There are many career opportunities in this field. Since the requirement of drugs and medicines around the year, the opportunities are many. Therefore, there is a wide range of options available for the individual, and they can select which career they want to opt for which career.

As a private employee:

• Launch own start-up business
• Self-employed

As an employee in:

• Pharmaceutical industry
• Biomedical industry
• Biotechnology industry
• Cosmetology industry
• Medical device distribution company
• Drug regulatory agencies
• Administrations depending on the Ministries of Health
• Research laboratories in non-academic settings

As a university:

• Teaching as a University Professor
• Research and development within national and international academic research centers

The College of Pharmacy has a clear admissions policy that accurately describes the student selection process. This admissions policy will be reviewed periodically. Access to the first year of pharmaceutical engineering degree is done:

1. Access to the engineering degree:

Access to the first year of engineering degree is open to:

• candidates who have completed the two preparatory classes of the pharmaceutical engineering degree and who are assigned to the college of pharmacy of UM6SS. (direct access)
• candidates who have completed two years of preparatory classes in other engineering college for similar engineering training establishments, within the limit of places offered by college of pharmacy of UM6SS. (pre-selection and oral interview)
• candidates who have passed the competitive entrance examination open to students holding the baccalaureate plus two years of study (DEUG, DUT, DEUST, DEUP, or any other diploma recognized as equivalent according to the educational prerequisites and procedures specified in the description of the course of study requested and within the limit of the places available: Biology – Chemistry – Life and Earth Sciences (pre-selection and oral interview).
• holders of the baccalaureate plus three years of study (License or any other diploma recognized as equivalent), according to the educational prerequisites and procedures specified in the description of the course of study requested and within the limit of the places available.
• Doctors of Pharmacy, or Pharmacy students who have completed the 5th year (double diploma): (pre-selection and oral interview)

2. Selection procedure:

2.1. Preselection (60%) 

Students from the UM6SS College of Pharmacy who have completed the 2-year preparatory cycle have direct access to the first year of the “pharmaceutical engineering degree”

• The pre-selection is based on the evaluation of the candidate’s profile, his/her motivation, the relevance of his/her professional project as well as his/her academic gradebook (marks obtained in the examinations of modules:  Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, English, as well as all the modules that are prerequisites for the pharmaceutical engineering degree. 

2.2. Interview (40%) 

The faculty commission in charge of the oral interview evaluates the:

• Communication and linguistic skills of the candidate in English
• Analytical, discursive and argumentative capacities of the candidate on subjects of general culture, scientific culture, values and humanities

The pharmaceutical engineering degree is spread over 3 years of study and includes 6 semesters dedicated for teaching of pharmaceutical, biological, and engineering modules. The program includes a total of 30 modules. The global hourly volume of pharmaceutical engineering is a minimum of 1920 hours of teaching and evaluation (internships not included).

Internships:

During the pharmaceutical engineering degree students will have three industrial internships:

• The PHE Practicum A of 20 days.
• The PHE Practicum B of 20 days.
• The internship of six months in the second semester of the third year

Capstone design thesis:

From the first year of the engineering degree, students will start working on a project or a proof of concept that they will develop during the three years of the program (learning by project).

The second semester of the third year of the pharmaceutical engineering degree, students will finalize their projects or proofs of concept by an end-of-study project in the form of an industry (or research center) internship during which they will concretize and make the final touches on their three years projects.

A capstone design thesis is prepared at the end of the studies and is then defended.

• Copy of diploma of Baccalaureate
• Copy of CIN or Passport
• Transcript of baccalaureates and preparatory classes cycle marks
• Equivalence of the diploma for foreign diplomas

File processing fee: 500 MAD (50 USD) (non-refundable)

Study Fees –      3.000 MAD: fees of registration per year (300 USD) –      77.000 MAD: pedagogical fees (7.700 USD) –      Terms of payment: payment in two installments per academic year

Pr Samy Iskandar

scolarite-pharmacie@um6ss.ma

Tel :  +212 701 305 914 / +212 700 094 255