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INDUSTRIAL VISIT TO PHARMACEUTICAL QUALITY SCIENTIST TRAINING
LABORATORY

On 7th April 2022, 30 students of TY Biotechnology from St. Xavier’s College, Mapusa visited
the PQS Training Laboratory in Verna, Goa along with 2 lecturers – Ms. Anabel Alphonso

and Ms. Anjelica Matias. The primary aim of the visit was to gain information about the
various bioanalytical instruments used in the pharmaceutical industry.

PQS Training Laboratory, a training centre founded 3 years ago, helps bridge the gap between
the academic skill set and industrial expectations in the pharmaceutical industry. Hands-on

practical experience is provided unlike university courses that focus mainly on the theoretical
aspect. Students are trained to use various scientific instruments that are found while working
in a pharmaceutical company. The students are taught in batches and their teaching modules

consist of both theory and practical components. The training provided helps the student
work confidently at their future job. The centre consists of two laboratories – a wet lab and a

lab for analysis. The layout of the training centre is similar to that found in a company.

We arrived there at 10:00 a.m. There was a welcome given by their faculty Mrs. Poonam
Naik.The visit commenced with a short talk on “Career Options in the Pharmaceutical

Industry” by Dr. Prashant Phanasekar. He explained the four main processes that make up the
pharmaceutical industry – discovery of a drug, development, production and marketing. He
also introduced the various key aspects of the pharmaceutical industry – types of dosage, types

of products, top companies and patents. He then covered, in great detail, the jobs available in
the pharmaceutical industry. The talk was very insightful as it provided information about the

intricate affairs of the pharmaceutical industry and all the hard work that goes into the
formulation and marketing of a drug. It also helped us gain an understanding of the jobs

available in the industry. The talk ended with a question-and-answer session.

This was followed by a short tour of their labs. Dr. Prashant gave us a tour of the analytical
instruments and explained the principle behind the working of each instrument. It was an
interactive session wherein all our doubts were promptly answered by Dr. Prashant. The

bioanalytical instruments seen were – UV Spectrometer, Infrared Spectrophotometer and
HPLC. Their role in the pharmaceutical industry was also explained. Mrs. Poonam gave us a

tour of the wet lab. She explained the working of each apparatus. KF Titrator, Dissolution
Tester, Friabilator, Sonicator, Disintegration Test Apparatus and Digital Density Meter were
some of the instruments we had not seen before. She also described the use of each

instrument in the rigorous testing of tablets. The visit ended around 12:30 p.m. and we were
all given a certificate for completion of the industrial visit.

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