SweDeliver's summer internships adding value to all parties

2023-09-08

“My work at Strike Pharma was a highly educational experience,” states Amanda Gustafsson, master's student with a focus on biopharmaceuticals and one of six future pharmaceutical experts selected for this summer’s internships at the national competence center SweDeliver's industrial partners.

“For me, SweDeliver's summer internships offered the perfect opportunity to try work with biological drugs and to be part of everyday life at a small company. With hindsight, it was a highly educational experience with lots of new knowledge that will be of great use in my future career, says Amanda Gustafsson, master's student at Uppsala University, on returning to the Biomedical Center after six weeks work at biotech company Strike Pharma.

For the third summer in a row, SweDeliver – the drug delivery national competence center – opened its doors for master's students to do a six-week research internship at one of the center’s sixteen industrial partners. With a record setting 70 high-quality applications from around the world, it was no easy task to select the six students who were finally offered the coveted internships.

“Our investment in summer internships is one of several strategic initiatives to strengthen student involvement in the research conducted within SweDeliver, which will in the long term expand our recruitment platform for new PhD students. In addition, it is an effective way for us to contribute to increased contact surfaces and mobility between academia and industry,” says Christel Bergström, Center leader at SweDeliver.

During a SweDeliver summer internship, the students take active roles in an ongoing research project. They are expected to be committed, ready for hard work and prepared to give their utmost to learn more about the field. In return, they receive full salary, industrial experience and opportunities to build important networks at a selection of the country's leading life science companies.

“Being a small company, we have to prioritize resources and Amanda's very significant contribution to our operations provided us the opportunity to explore a scientific issue of great relevance to us. Of course, we are also fully aware of the need to enable reality-based training for the next generation of experts. So the fact that we are very impressed by Amanda's efforts combined with a chance to share our own expertise means that we are happy to accept more interns as soon as the right opportunity knocks,” says Lindvi Gudmundsdotter, Director Non-Clinical Development at Strike Pharma.

On site at Strike Pharma's premises at Uppsala's Green Innovation Park, Amanda Gustafsson conducted a literature study with a focus on connections between different administration methods, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. She also managed to take an active part in the laboratory work, where she isolated cells for a few days. Tasks that Amanda describes as welcome opportunities to practically apply the knowledge she gained during her first year at Uppsala University's Master's Programme in Biopharmaceuticals.

“For me, holding a bachelor's degree in biology, this Master's Programme comes with a lot of unexplored territory, but after my weeks at Strike Pharma, I know for sure that I have chosen the right path. It was also interesting to experience how everyone at a smaller company is involved in and collaborates on everything, which is definitely something I can see myself doing after graduation.”

FACTS

SweDeliver is a national competence center in drug delivery.
With Uppsala University's Faculty of Pharmacy as the academic hub and 16 industrial partners, SweDeliver conducts research on parenteral, oral and pulmonary administration.

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CONTACT

Christel Bergström
Center Director, SweDeliver
Christel.Bergstrom@farmaci.uu.se

text: Magnus Alsne, photo: Private, Strike Pharma, Mikael Wallerstedt