Pharmaceutical clean room opened at the Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy in Belgrade
04. October 2018.
Owing to a donation made by 17 companies headed by the pharmaceutical company Hemofarm, the Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy today obtained a pharmaceutical clean room, covering the surface area of 80 m2 and worth around EUR 40,000, which will enable the students, future engineers of Pharmaceutical Engineering, to practically learn the way of functioning, maintenance and validation of a pharmaceutical clean room, as well as the mandatory rules of behaviour of employees within this specific work space.

Stronger cooperation of the University and the economy is extremely important for the prosperity of Serbian economy. Fast technical-technological development is one of the main characteristics of the 21st century, and this rapid progress in production processes contributes to the widening of the gap between theory and practice. Modern industry needs personnel, primarily engineers, with high level of theoretical knowledge, but who at the same time also possess applied knowledge and skills to enable them to quickly adapt to actual work in the industry and keep up with the quick progress in production technologies.

“Cooperation of the faculties and the economy must be more intensive and stronger. Joint work of Hemofarm and TMF is a good example of how to plan educational profiles according to the needs of the market. Precisely the amendments to the Law on University Education include introduction of the Employers’ Council so that we can connect faculties and the economy in the best possible way“, said Mladen Šarčević, Minister of Education, Science and Technological Development, who attended the ceremonial opening of the clean room.

Wanting to show by own example what the University and powerful industry can do when united, the Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy and Hemofarm company, regional leader in pharmaceutical industry, have developed a cooperation project within the last two years aiming to improve the curriculum at the department of Pharmaceutical Engineering.



“We noticed in Hemofarm that young engineers need more than 6 months of additional training to become independent in work and able to keep up with the modern production processes. That is why the cooperation between the economy and universities is important. Because of that, we helped opening of a model of pharmaceutical clean room at the Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, so that future engineers could get the opportunity to become acquainted in practice with the way of functioning, maintenance and validation of a pharmaceutical clean room, as well as the rules of conduct within a specific work space. As the regional pharmaceutical leader, Hemofarm perceived the cooperation with the faculty as its obligation to help in development of good-quality labour force“, said Ronald Seeliger, CEO of Hemofarm.

Two-year cooperation project of the selected team of professors from the Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy (TMF) and the team of Hemofarm experts resulted in the supplement of 10 courses and improvement of the curriculum at the department of Pharmaceutical Engineering at TMF. With a project like this, everyone wins. Students got the opportunity to learn from experienced professionals in Hemofarm plants and become familiar with the latest technologies and production processes in pharmaceutical industry. The Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy got a study programme of better quality, improvement of teaching conditions and professional training of professors. Hemofarm and the entire pharmaceutical industry, as well as other related branches, will get engineers who are able to quickly become independent in practical work and keep up with the rapid progress in production technologies.

“We have a thirty-year long cooperation with Hemofarm in the field of creating highly-qualified experts. Owing to the efforts of former students who now work in Hemofarm, we managed to upgrade 10 courses at the department of Pharmaceutical Engineering and significantly improve the field of practical work. Clean room is the last in the series. But TMF is not just an educational institution but also a scientific-research centre which creates many top researchers every year“, pointed out Prof. Đorđe Janaćković, PhD, project coordinator for cooperation between TMF and Hemofarm.

In the 21st century as the era of innovation, quality, and high standards, permanent gaining of knowledge as well as constant investments in training of employees are obligatory.

“The Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy is a renowned educational institution and second-ranking within the Belgrade University thus contributing to its high position in the Shanghai list. New programmes and the practical training implemented as a result of cooperation with the economy and the companies like Hemofarm, is an additional motive for us at the faculty and a huge step forward in keeping the top experts here in Serbia“, said Prof. Petar Uskoković, PhD, the dean of TMF.

Serbian educational system is going through a period of transformation and reforms. The adopted Law on Dual Education is an important improvement of the quality of secondary education, but it is also necessary to strengthen cooperation between universities and the economy.