innopharma quarter four newsletter 2021

 

 

Q4 STORY BY NUMBERS

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Innopharma Education

LET'S BEGIN WITH SOME EXCITING UPDATES FROM THE EDUCATION TEAM 

INNOPHARMA COURSES

October saw the beginning of the first cohort in our first Innopharma Education independently accredited programmes. This was a huge step for the college and is hopefully just the beginning of many independently run programmes for the future. A huge congratulations to all who were involved in this, it is a credit to our organisation and a great sign of things to come.

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EMOTIONAL GOODBYE'S

We said goodbye to two superstars this quarter, Paula and Mary Jensen. Both are already missed, wishing them the best of luck in the future!

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2021 GRADUATIONS

Many of our TUD and Griffith programmes graduated over the last couple of months. It was great to see Griffith students get the opportunity to meet in person and was lovely for students and lecturers alike to meet after a difficult year or more online. It was even better to see so many positive posts across LinkedIn from our graduates. Many of which shouted out Innopharma Education, our lecturers and our CEO! We have taken advantage of these positive reviews from a marketing point of view and have requested use of many of their images and testimonials. It's very heartwarming to read the posts, we would recommend giving them a read! 

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BABY NEWS 

Congratulations to Sorcha who gave birth to a beautiful baby boy on September 3oth! Sending her and her family our best for their first Christmas with baby Zach! 

Sorcha baby

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  TEACHING AND LEARNING UPDATES

2021 has been an eventful year for us all here at T&L. From the transition to our new Virtual Learning Environment, to the launch of the Learner Hub, and the establishment of our college Library, there’s been a lot of busy times!


LEARNER SUPPORT 2021 HIGHLIGHTS

Since its launch on 29th August 2021, the Learner Hub has had over 24,000 student 

Development of the Class Rep Hub as a resource for class reps. Launched in early November.

  • 150 views recorded for the Class Rep Hub so far (Dec 2021)
  • 34 class reps and 26 programme support staff currently enrolled in the Class Rep Hub
  • 51 new class reps throughout the year across all programmes.

19 study skills resources and guides developed for the Learner Hub, using various software and formats.

3 Exam Preparation workshops delivered as part of the Exam Dry Run sessions; attended by 393 learners.

Accessibility toolbar researched and implemented allowing better accessibility for learners with disabilities.


Interactive video guide to Mind Maps for Learners:
Mind Map



Innopharma Library Catalogue Home Page:

Library home page

Innopharma Library Search Results Page:

Library search page

GET IN TOUCH WITH THE T&L TEAM!

Danielle O’Rourke – Learning Technologist – orourked@innopharmalabs.com

Alexandra Anton – Learner Support Co-Ordinator – antona@innopharmalabs.com

Colm O’Connor – College Librarian – oconnorc@innopharmalabs.com

Academic & Study Skills Workshop Series

New workshop series launched in October for learners, titled “Academic & Study Skills Workshop Series”, composed of eight workshops developed and delivered by Alexandra and Colm. You can see the stats of this series below:

Workshop Series

 


LIBRARY 2021 HIGHLIGHTS

The Innopharma Online library was established and has an average of 740 views per week.

The following guides have been created and have approximately 1500 views to date:

  • Academic Integrity
  • Plagiarism
  • Referencing
  • Zotero
  • Information Literacy
  • Academic Writing
  • Using and navigating the online library
  • Open Educational Resources
  • Sage Journals
  • EBSCO Business Source Premier
  • PubMed
  • Finding Full-Text Articles
  • Google Scholar

The Innopharma Library catalogue was launched and includes books on topics such as referencing, academic writing, study skills and stress management, all of which can be accessed 24/7

The library has worked with the Learning Support coordinator to deliver a series of workshops to students over the first semester. These have proved very popular with close to 200 attendees and over 400 views of the recordings.

The library has given classes to a number of cohorts (totaling over 700 students) from L6 to L9 on topics including academic integrity, referencing, academic writing, information literacy literature searching and Turnitin.

The library gave induction talks to all incoming Innopharma students.

A curated collection of high-quality Open Access Resources has been developed and is available to learners via the Online library.



Academic & Study Skills Workshop Series

We ran a series of CPD sessions for staff in the following areas:

  • GoToTraining:
    Breakout Rooms, Polls, Tests
  • Innoskills Transition Sessions,
  • Zoom Training Sessions – Griffith,
  • Innoskills & Zoom Orientation,
  • Taking the Pain out of Grading – How to Write and Use Analytic Rubrics, with Head of Teaching & Learning,
  • Accessibility in Online Teaching & Working with Learner Support Co-Ordinator,
  • Feedback Strategies for Large Class Sizes, with Head of Teaching & Learning,
  • Zoom Workshops/Drop-Ins,
  • Bitesize:
    Breakout Rooms, Polls, Whiteboard & Annotation,

  • Automated Assessment,
  • Spark Sessions:
    Menti, Miro,

  • 1-to-1 and small group Inductions for all new teaching staff



 

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Technology

  GREAT NEWS FROM THE TECHNOLOGY TEAM 

DIGITAL MATURITY AND SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENTS (DMSA) FOR THE LIGHTHOUSE PARTNERSHIP IN DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES (LPDT) IN SMALL MOLECULE MANUFACTURING

Following a busy second and third quarter conducting Digital Maturity and Sustainability Assessments with the LPDT we shared the benchmarking data with participants at an in-person workshop facilitated by Analog Devices in Limerick to facilitate identifying how best the group can accelerate progress along the Industry 5.0 journey. This event was recently described by Biopharamachem Ireland in an Irish Times Article. We were delighted to have contributed to evidence based data driven strategy formulation of the group.   




SMARTX DEPLOYMENT TO PMTC

Our ongoing project to in the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Technology Centre (PMTC) with the installation of SmartX achieved pivotal milestone in Q4 with first run up of the system and in-person training of PMTC personnel in both our process lab in Sandyford and University Limerick. It also included support from our very own Chris O’Callaghan at the PMTC knowledge day where they formerly announced the centre newfound capability afforded by SmartX and accessible to all manufactures in Ireland that provides an enabling advantage of accelerating new fluid-bed process development and optimisation of existing processes. You can watch Chris video prepared for PMTC knowledge day here. 


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OUR PARTICLE SIZING WORLD WITH EYECON2 TM

We have been reaping the fruits of our labour in Q4 with Eyecon2 TM as a number of developments have come to pass including return to in person trade shows and conferences in the USA with our distributor Horiba who recently showcased our PAT instrument at the American Association of Pharmacuetical Scientists conference (AAPS) in Philadelphia. Also for 1st time ever we demonstrated our new Eyepass software to the Horiba Sales team which relies of Artificial Intelligence to perform image analysis and greatly expands the applications of Eyecon2. They are an experienced expert group in particle characterisation across may sector and its great to get this scrutiny.  The year for Eyecon2 is all nicely finished off with a shipment in December of a shiny new Eyecon2 to a repeat customer,  Pfizer in Groton US. 

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IN MEMORY OF KEVIN
 

We fondly remember our former colleague Kevin McCarthy who passed away following a short illness in September this year, Kevin was all-round nice guy, and very unique character! As the action shot of Kevin in our lab shows,

 Kevin was inquisitive by nature and was always destined to be an engineer, with a real talent for off-the-wall, but effective solutions to technical challenges.

His encyclopaedic knowledge on a bizarre range of niche interests, from the US electoral college, to 3D printing, Pokemon Go, and military strategy (it’s safe to say that thanks to Kev none of us who spent time working with him will ever make the error of starting a land-war in Asia!). He will be greatly missed.


WEDDING BELLS!

A big congrats to Chris who tied the knot this month! Wishing him and his lovely wife all the best for the future!


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Chris wedding cake
INNOPHARMA TECHNICAL SERVICES

TECHNICAL SERVICES UPDATES    

It’s been another very busy quarter in the Technical Services Division with the recruitment for and the delivery of our validation programme to cohort 17, two new clients, nine new starters at client’s sites (with two more with start dates confirmed for January) and one relocation. We’ve also had baby news and wedding bells. 

VALIDATION

On the Validation front Cohort 17 commenced on Nov 8th and are now well into the training programme. 

We have added a new client to our portfolio with two placements (James McCoy and Ollie Rooney) at Zoetis in Tullamore. Zoetis are an animal healthcare company who acquired the Nexvet plant in Tullamore in 2017.  Since then, the plant has had considerable investment and development and has commenced the manufacture of veterinary biopharmaceuticals.  Solensia, the first injectable monoclonal antibody licenced for alleviation of pain associated with osteoarthritis in cats has recently received approval from the EMA and will be a major product for the plant. Find out more about Zoetis development plans by clicking here.

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BABY NEWS

Firstly, some baby news.  Huge congratulations to Stacey Carmody (Validation Engineer at Regeneron) on the arrival of Cillian on November 9th💞. I’m sure Cillian is looking forward to his first Christmas.
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WEDDING BELLS

A big congratulations to Shalini Thakur (QC Analyst at BMS) and her husband Adhiraj Dave on their wedding on December 6th.

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INNOPHARMA TECHNICAL SERVICES NEW STARTERS 


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James McCoy

Hello everyone! My name is James McCoy and I’m very happy to have joined the Innopharma team.

I’m currently working as a Validation Specialist at Zoetis Tullamore, Co Offaly. As part of my role, I’m supporting Validation activities for the QC department. Our first project is almost complete. It involved relocating analytical equipment from one Lab to a new Lab. I feel I hit the ground running coming from the Validation Programme straight into that role. Audrey, Luke and Caroline had us very well prepared 😊

My previous working experience was mainly in the Construction Industry as a Painter & Decorator but I had experience working as a Process Technician at Intel Ireland after having completed a Bachelor of Engineering for Mechanical Engineering at GMIT Galway in 2015.

I recently completed my Higher Diploma in Biopharmaceutical and Medical Device manufacturing along with the Validation Programme with Innopharma and I’m really enjoying having a career in the Pharmaceutical Industry now.

I’ve met some great people since joining the Innopharma team and I’m sure there’s many more friendships to make.

Some of my hobbies are travelling, reading, swimming, hanging out with my two little girls and trading cryptocurrency. I enjoy learning and having new experiences and of course I’m always on the search for great coffee! 

Jessica Kelch

I graduated from DIT Kevin Street with a First Class Honours in Forensic and Environmental Chemistry in 2014. Following this I pursued a PhD in chemistry with the project titled the “Development of an impedimetric immunosensor for progesterone based on redox active steroid derivatives”. The project was predominantly a mix of Organic synthetic and Analytical chemistry with a bio-chemical element. During this time, I presented both at National and International Conferences, some of the more exotic locations include Bilbao, Morocco and Miami. As part of my studies, I participated in the Marie Curie (International mobility FP7 IRSES) programme in 2016 under the supervision of Prof. E Iwuoha at Sensor lab in the University of Western Cape, South Africa where I spent 4 months working in the research laboratory in Capetown. During my time as a postgraduate, I also worked as an Associate Staff Lecturer at the Institute of Technology Tallaght and a Laboratory Demonstrator in Maynooth University.

In 2019 I decided to leave the world of academia behind her to pursue a career in industry. My first experience of Industry was through Medical Devices at Trinity Biotech Bray as a PE Biochemist. This role was based on the production floor as part of the project team that was responsible for the technical transfer of a new product from the sister site in the states. In this role I gained a great deal of experience in working in an FDA, WHO and HPRA regulated company. Following a successful Tech Transfer and Validation, I was promoted to the Production Engineering department where I took the role of Product Engineer for NPI. Here I acted as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) for the Lateral Flow product family and was responsible for the provision of technical support to the Production and QC groups, product re-design, process improvement, product integration and product transfer.  This role required collaborating and facilitating cross sectional meetings with other department groups such as Quality, Validation, Engineering, Supply Chain, Packaging, Production, Marketing and Regulatory affairs to meet milestones for new product introduction.  

A busy work schedule has not left a lot of spare time in recent years however when there is time my hobbies include competing at a Novice level in Ballroom and Latin dancing or with a Makeup or Hair brush in hand maintaining the skills from a previous life where I worked and Qualified in the Beauty Industry. 

Nidhin Jose

My name is Nidhin Jose and I am working with the Analytical Instrumentation validation team at Regeneron.  I hold a Batchelors of Mechanical Engineer (Piping/Production) from Mahatma University in Kerala, India and a Master’s in Engineering Design from Anna University, Tamil Nadu.  I have 5 years of experience in the Oil & Gas Industry and Production Field having had roles in India, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.  My expertise is in Production, Fabrication, Erection and Commissioning of Piping and Chemical storage tanks. Being highly regulated and hazardous environments I have many skills that will help me transition into the Pharmaceutical industry including interpretation of regulations from the standards and polices. 

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Ollie Rooney

I have a scientific background with a BSc and PhD in chemistry, both from NUI, Galway. My industry experience began in chemical process development and technical services in the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) industry. I have also worked in validation, production, quality control and quality assurance, including supervisory roles. My current role is in validation support for Zoetis, a biopharma veterinary manufacturer in Tullamore, Co Offaly. I am also completing Semester 3 of the Level 8 Higher Diploma in Biopharmaceutical and Medical Device Manufacturing with Innopharma Education. My main interests are in sport and music, particularly golf and Galway GAA. 

Marcela Amadeu

I was born and raised in Brazil, where I got my Bachelor's Degree in Pharmaceutical Science from the University of Campinas (Sao Paulo). I started my professional journey in the Cosmetic/Beauty Industry in Brazil, as a Regulatory Affairs Analyst at Natura Cosmetics, where I stayed almost 3 years.

In 2015 I decided to go to Sydney - Australia, to have an overseas life experience. I stayed 5 years there, studying Marketing and Business, and working in the Hospitality Industry.

In 2020 I planned to leave Australia and move to Ireland. I reached Dublin in September 2020.

In March 2021 I got into the Innopharma Validation Program. I am currently working at Amgen Dun Laoghaire since October 2021, as a Validation Engineer, providing support to the Equipment Qualification area, working mainly with HVAC requalification’s.

On my free time I like going for outdoor walks, I try to go to the gym a few days a week, love reading and meeting friends.

Eimear Conway

Hi everyone, my name is Eimear Conway! I completed the Validation Engineering course with Innopharma in October of this year and just recently started working in Pfizer Newbridge in packaging technology, focusing specifically on cleaning validation at the moment! 

Prior to that, I completed an undergrad in Environmental Science in May this year. While in college I had several part-time jobs such as waitressing, retail admin and farm work. 

In my spare time I enjoy playing sports, particularly Gaelic which I play with my local team, St. Maurs. 

Livia Vasconcelos

My name is Lívia Vasconcelos, and I am a Technology Transfer Lead (Jr) in Amgen. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy from University Federal Fluminense (UFF) in Brazil and am currently doing a Masters in Pharmaceutical Business and Technology with Innopharma/Griffith College.

I completed the 16th validation programme with Innopharma Technical Services in 2021 with previous work experience in laboratory, hospital pharmacy and community pharmacy. I am passionate about cycling and swimming in my free time

Lauren Fehily

I recently graduated from UCD with a BSc in Microbiology. I went on to complete the QC programme with Innopharma and enjoyed every minute of it. I am delighted to have begun my role as a QC Analyst with Viatris. I’m looking forward to gaining experience and learning lots! Outside of the lab I am an avid equestrian and have done show jumping for many years. It’s something I love to do for fun and hope to do for many years. 

Karla Rodrigues

My name is Karla Rodriguez, I have joined Amgen in an Operations Lead role for NPI’s. I hold a Batchelors degree in Biomedical Engineering from UNITEC, University, in my native Honduras, and an MSc in Pharmaceutical Business and Technology from Innopharma/Griffith College. I have 4 years’ experience managing and servicing hospital equipment, initially as a Field Service Engineer for 1 year before being promoted to Field Service Manager.  I am very excited to be part of the Innopharma technology team and to be able through my work to contribute to the improvement of patients' lives.

INNOPHARMA
A WARM WELCOME TO OUR NEWBIES 

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Daniela Angione

I am Chemistry graduate from the University of Bari “Aldo Moro” (Italy) with a MSc in Analytical Chemistry. I obtained a PhD in Chemistry of Innovative Materials from the same University, spending several months in secondment at the University of Texas at Austin (USA) within Prof. A. Dodabalapur’s research group. After my PhD I moved to the University of Manchester (UK) as a Marie Curie Post-doctoral Fellow, working with Prof. K. Persaud, father of the “electronic nose”. I finally joined Trinity College Dublin, where I spent 8 years as Principal Investigator in the field of electronic sensors and point-of-care diagnostics. I independently raised about 1 Million Euro in national and European funding, and delivered lectures for the 3rd and 4th year Chemistry students in Trinity College Dublin. Finally, I have served as Expert Evaluator of grant proposals for the European Commission since 2018, and as Reviewer for several peer-reviewed international journals such as Nature Communications, Sensors, Materials, etc.

I currently work as a Research and Grants Officer in the Technology division, and responsible for European and National grants applications.

My main hobby is music: I am involved in an Irish-Italian musical project, making original music within the post-rock/dream-pop genre. I also really enjoy being outdoor hiking, cycling and swimming (in the Adriatic Sea!).


Liam Ryan

After finishing a BSc in Food Science in UCC I followed up with a Masters in Management in Smurfit UCD. I began working at Accenture, a consulting firm in Grand Canal Dock, Dublin. After two years there, I took a short break to China and ended up living and working in Shanghai for 4 years. I then did a marketing fellowship masters (again with Smurfit) and after a couple of years in Dubai and Antwerp moved back to Ireland.

I have started out working in various marketing positions in the technology sector and I am delighted to be back to the industry with Innopharma after a long time in the food industry.

Outside of work I spend most of my time with movies, cooking, GAA and arguing with my other half about the thermostat.

 

I’m very happy to continue my career at Innopharma and it’s already been a pleasure to meet the wide range of people working here. I’m looking forward to meeting more in the future. 

 
 
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Tessa Lyons Moran

Hi, I am Tessa,

I am from Mayo/Galway in the West of Ireland. I have achieved a Bachelor’s degree in Business and a Bachelor of Business (Hons) with International Business degree, in the Galway Business School, both with first-class honours.

During the pandemic, as I was looking for jobs (and failed), I decided to go back to college and I studied my Master’s Degree in Business Analytics, in NUIG. My education was very important to me, as I have a visual impairment and with that comes challenges. I want to show people, that having a disability, shouldn’t stop you from achieving great things.

I have had jobs while in college in hospitality and retail, but now, I am doing something I love. Working at Innopharma as a data analysis coordinator and hitting my two months in this role, has made me so happy and grateful for the opportunity. I work with the nicest people and a team, who will support you. 2022, will hopefully be a good year, so if there is something you want to do – DO IT!! 


Joan Toner

Hello, my name is Joan Toner.   I recently joined Innopharma Education working with the Limerick Regional Team.

I am originally from Co Kildare and moved to Ennis,  Co Clare some years ago.   I began my career in HR working for Dublin based company BWG Foods and continued in this field of work when I moved to the West.   I took a career break for some years to raise my family and recently returned to the workforce in 2018 joining the Software Development Centre of Jaguar Land Rover in Shannon,  assisting with their major recruitment drive.

I enjoy volunteering with our local GAA club and dabble a bit with Interior Decorating.   I am looking forward to working with everyone on the Innopharma Education Team

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Jennifer Manning

I am a science graduate from UCC. My BSc is in Neuroscience, and I furthered this with a PhD from the Neuroscience and Physiology Dept, specializing in inflammation and muscle function in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. After a postdoctoral project in the Physiology Dept, I wanted to move into the manufacturing industry in Cork.

I completed Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Manufacturing (SPA) with Innopharma Education in Cork in 2015 and started my role in the QC labs in Merck (Millipore), I worked as a validation technician, testing PPQ batches and developing tests on a spectrophotometer. I moved from this role to a Quality Engineer role in Depuy Synthes in operations, a fast-paced dynamic role! After this, I worked in MSD Brinny on the tech transfer of their new vaccines until 2020.

I took a career break in early 2020 as we had welcomed a baby boy to our family, we welcomed another baby girl earlier this year! When I get the time, I like to garden, crochet (lockdown project!), go camping and keep up with current affairs. I was delighted with the opportunity to join the team, especially as it was fundamental in me gaining employment in the industry back in 2015, a full circle moment!

I am delighted to join Innopharma Education and hope to meet everyone soon.

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SOCIAL FUN!


ALL INNOPHAMA DAY

November 17th saw the return of our first in-person all hands meeting since 2019! What a fantastic day of catching up with co-workers we may not have seen in months as well as welcoming the new staff who joined remotely throughout the pandemic! It was great to discuss our achievements to date as well as our exciting plans for growth in the future. One thing that is very clear is that Innopharma has seen huge growth in recent years and this is expected to continue in the coming years, very exciting times ahead! 


CHRISTMAS

See Ciaran and Ian below for the turning on of the Christmas lights ceremony a few weeks ago in the office!

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all company day

CHRISTMAS PART

We hope you all enjoyed Fridays Christmas party! It sounded like a very eventful evening and was great crack for all who attended! Thank you to Mary Jane and Danielle for organising and thank you to all who attended. 

Big thank you to Innopharma and Mary Jane for organising our Christmas hampers this year, what a beautiful surprise to brighten up everyone's day after another tough lead up to Christmas! 

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