FIP, as the global leader for pharmacy, has taken the initiative to build the “FIP World List of Pharmacy Schools”, which will be the most comprehensive and up-to-date list of pharmacy institutions from around the world. This global list is intended to guide all pharmacy stakeholders, from students to policymakers, in assessing the appropriateness and effectiveness of pharmacy education strategies. The availability, completeness and quality of FIP’s World List of Pharmacy Schools means it will provide a unique source of information for pharmaceutical workforce policies, procedures and plans.
Further background on the FIP World List of Pharmacy Schools:
The FIP World List of Pharmacy Schools is an initiative to monitor pharmaceutical capacity and capability, similar to those of many other global organisations, such as the World Medical Schools List held by the World Medical Association. Given 2021 is the World Health Organization’s Year of Health and Care Workers, the need for our global organisations to demonstrate increased capacity in all health workers is key to ensure our professions are not further diminished but amplified.
FIP is a founder member of the World Health Professions Alliance (WHPA) with doctors, nurses, dentists, and physiotherapists. All WHPA members have been requested to feedback their schools’ status to the WHO as part of pandemic preparedness, and FIP having a list of accredited pharmacy schools will help to identify where schools may be needed and created to ensure long-term pharmaceutical workforce capacity.
St. Petersburg State Chemical Pharmaceutical University
SPCPA
Saint Petersburg State Chemical Pharmaceutical Academy (SPCPA) was founded in 1919 and is now the oldest institution of higher pharmaceutical education in Russia. The Academy has been training both domestic and international students for over 50 years. The graduates of the Academy work in more than 30 countries of Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America.
The Academy has available classroom facilities and laboratories, nurseries for medicinal plants, libraries, up-to-date equipment for research, Internet connected computer classes. At present foreign citizens from 21 countries are trained at the Academy, making up 25% of the whole number of students. They include students from Morocco, Alger, Tunis, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Israel, Kenya, Botswana, Ghana, Namibia, China, Vietnam and others.
The Academy is the leading higher educational establishment in the field of general and industrial pharmacy, having the highest rating among institutions of higher pharmaceutical education in Russia. 75% of the faculty members have PhD and DSc degrees. Those ones include prominent scientists widely known both in Russia and abroad. The departments and research laboratories (sectors) of the Academy carry on research in various fields of applied and fundamental pharmaceutical sciences.
The Academy provides education in Russian language (at Faculty of Pharmacy and at Faculty of Drug Industrial Technology) and in French Language ( at the Faculty of Pharmacy). Duration of study at both faculties is 5 years. Having graduated with M.Sc., foreign students may apply for the PhD student position with study duration of 3 years. The academic year is divided into two semesters, starting in September and February, respectively. The entry date is September 1st.
Faculty of Pharmacy trains Masters of Pharmacy: highly qualified pharmacists-technologists, pharmacists-analysts, specialists in pharmacy administration. The Curriculum of the Faculty takes into account the specific nature of work of the prospective graduates, thus the supplementary courses have been introduced: tropical/subtropical infectious diseases, subtropical medicinal plants, international pharmaceutical marketing. Faculty of Drug Industrial Technology trains highly qualified engineers-bio-technologists in the following directions: pharmaceutical bio-technology; pharmaceutical chemical technology; industrial technology for pharmaceuticals and nature-derived products.
At present a number of the Academy graduates hold supervisory posts in the Public Health Service, in pharmaceutical industry, as well as in leading research centers and institutes, in largest cosmetic and pharmaceutical companies, in chemist's shops and in other pharmaceutical enterprises worldwide.
The Preparatory Courses of the Academy provide assistance to foreign students to get easier curriculum admission. The Courses are indispensable to foreign students who are seeking the admission to the Academy but are not fluent in Russian language. Courses are helpful also for those who are looking for other educational opportunities in Russia, especially in medical and pharmaceutical universities. Preparatory Courses students study Russian language, fundamentals of biology, chemistry and other basic sciences, get acquainted with Russian culture and traditions. The study duration is 10 months.