ISF College of Pharmacy, Moga, Director: Dr. G. D. Gupta Interview

Dr. G. D. Gupta has been working as the Director and Principal of ISF College of Pharmacy, Moga, Punjab. He has done B.Pharm in 1993, M. Pharm. in 1995 and PhD in 2000 as part of his academics. And, recently he received one of the prestigious awards as Principal of the Year 2021 by APTI at Mysore during 25th APTI national convention APTICON. He has 20+ years of amazing experience working in the Pharmaceutical Education and Research sector. He has also authored 19 books, published 107 research papers in various reputed peer-reviewed journals, encompassing 42 Review Articles. Besides this, he has been instrumental in getting 5 design Patents and 02 filed patents and has received research projects from many professional bodies such as AICTE, DST, DBT, CSIR as Principal Investigator, Co-PI and coordinator. Apart from this, he has guided 14 Doctoral and 98 Postgraduate research projects. His prime areas of expertise and interest have been Pharmaceutics conventional and Novel Drug Delivery system. He has widely traveled and shared his experience through more than 100 invited talks at prestigious forums in India and abroad. He and his research team have also presented more than 125 Papers in various conferences and symposia in India and abroad. He is a member of the Editorial Board and Advisory committee of various National and International journals. His contributions have fetched him several National and International awards including the Education Excellence Award, Best Poster Paper Award (APTI), Man of the Year from American Biographical Institute, USA, Best Director Award by Society of Pharmaceutical Education and Research awarded as Principal of the Year Award 2016, Best Director Award by EET CRS, 5th Faculty Branding Awards 2017, Eminent Scientist Award by Nirali Prakashan, 2019, Atal Samrasta Award by India Society of International Auditoria, Nepal on Dec. 25, 2019, SPER Fellowship award by SPER. He is Chairman of Board of Studies Pharmacy, IKGPTU, Jalandhar, Ex-President of Society of Pharmaceutical, Education and Research, Member Secretary of Research Advisory Council, ISFCP, Moga, Chairman of IAEC, ISFCP Member of Academic Council, IKGPTU, Jalandhar and Member of Board of Studies. He is also the Chief Advisor of Cell C. Human Right Munch and Punjab President of Alcohol free Society. During the Lockdown period, Dr. Gupta organized the first 6 days of Online STTP sponsored by AICTE and invented wearable infection protection rings and filled designs. He has also organized 101 hours of teaching Marathon and he is also a motivational speaker and social.

What are the key factors that keep you connected with the education sector?

"The satisfactory feeling I get after teaching students have kept me connected"

I am working as the Director-cum-Principal of ISF College of Pharmacy. And truly speaking, it's a very challenging role and needs consistent efforts to maintain this position throughout the career. So the factors which keep me connected with the education sector are the learning opportunities this field offers and being in the education sector, you get abundant opportunities to interact with the best minds around the world , and believe me it's an amazing and satisfactory feeling when we see our students achieving new heights.

Being the Director of IFS College, what is your philosophy of leadership?

"Leadership is all about dealing effectively with people of different mindset and skills"

In my opinion, a true Leader is one who has the capability to accept all challenges and sometimes compromise with family needs due to work, only then your work will be treated as worship. And a leader should be workaholic, disciplined and strongly believe in his strengths, work by following all ethical values and maintain a good character and soft behavior.

Which course your institute is offering to students and how many total seats are there every course?

"We are offering B. Pharm, M. Pharma and D. Pharm courses in our college"

We are offering all pharmacy programs including D. Pharm., B. Pharm. at UG level and M.Pharm at the PG level and in nine branches along with courses like Pharm.D., Pharm.D. PB, B. Pharm. (Practice) and PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences. And all our programs are approved by the Pharmacy Council of India and other reputed professional bodies also. And if I talk about the seat availability, then distribution of seats is done as per the guidelines of Pharmacy Council of India.

How do you strategize the key programs for the marketing and administration of your college?

"Through support of our students, Alumni and improving our teaching pedagogies"

Our ISF College of Pharmacy is accredited by NAAC with A grade and is also recognized by UGC. Along with this, we are ranked by top rating platforms like NIRF and ARIA. So we separately don't need to do anything special for enhancing our reach among potential future students. Also then, I would like to highlight that our Alumni, current students and teaching-learning methodologies help us a lot to stay connected with our future students and outside world. Because, no one knows us better than them. 

In your experience, what benefits can students gain from studying here in your institute?

"They will get finest quality and employment oriented education here"

I firmly believe that comparing our pharmacy education system with an abroad institute is neither good nor justifiable as every country has their own needs, facilities and requirements. So, I would like to assure students that they will get the best amenities, education and customized training programs here in our college. 

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How is your university more welcoming to students of different races or economic backgrounds?

"We have students from all over country and we cherish this diversity by ensuring equality for everyone"

We have a diverse range of students from close to 22 states of our country, and all of them are pursuing different courses as per their areas of interest and passion. And we cherish this diversity as this kind of ambiance promotes better learning experiences for students. Also any kind of inequality is strictly prohibited in our college to ensure students feel safe while studying here.

What are your roles and responsibilities for the University and students?

"Taking care of institute official work and guiding students and teachers is my main responsibility"

Being the Director, I am responsible for doing the official work of our college and to take care of my students academic and non-academic needs, issues and queries. Apart from this, bringing best business value for college and enhancing our presence in more regions of our country is also my responsibility. 

What do you think should be the University’s top priority over the next 10 years?

"Proper and effective implementation of NEP should be our goal for upcoming years"

Our topmost priority for the upcoming years would definitely be to implement the National Education Policy in our curriculum in the best possible and effective ways. Along with this, we should plan to include more Degree, Diploma and certification courses in our curriculum in upcoming years as technology is changing at a very fast pace and Automation is capturing almost every sector day by day.

When you first joined the institute, what was your vision for it and how far have you come along in implementing them?

"It was to bring best values for college and establish amazing research facilities in college"

My aim while I joined this amazing institute was to enhance and maintain the status of the college, work for its accreditation and establish a good research center and innovation cell. And ensuring timely training of our faculty as per industry standards and educational practices was my another objective. And the journey so far has been amazing and I along with everyone's support are working really hard to achieve my goals. 

What would you like people to know about your university?

"We offer quality education and best placement opportunities to students"

Our ISF College of Pharmacy is an Autonomous College and we are well known for offering quality and employment oriented education and finest research facilities to students. And any kind of nuisance or lethargic and unorganized person is not acceptable here in our institute. 

What do you see as your College’s greatest strengths?

"Our teachers, students and amenities we offer to them makes us strong and resilient"

The main pillars of our college strength are our highly educated and experienced faculty members, students and facilities and quality education which we offer to them for a better future and life. Along with this, the vision of our college is to work for the betterment of our students and improve the quality of life for all people in society by educating them, and this vision is also a source of our strength. 

What are some of the biggest challenges you see for higher education in general?

"Stubborn attitude of students and parents while moving to a new place for students studies is main issue"

There are many roadblocks present as far as higher education of students is concerned. And the most prominent one is the geographical location of colleges followed by the mindset of students and their parents who don't want to move toward big cities, sometimes due to financial issues and other times due to fear of leaving their native place of profession. As a result of this, students suffer in the future as they don't get quality education on time.

Any suggestions which you would like to give to the current youth and aspiring students?

"Do a thorough research of a college before joining it to pursue your dream courses"

Being a senior and responsible person, I would advise all my students and youths of our society to do a complete analysis of a college, availability and qualifications of faculty teaching there, about the recognition of the institution, its placement statistics and vision and mission, before taking admission to pursue their dream courses. Also, keep upgrading your skills and expanding your professional network and make best use of your time and learning opportunities that come your way.

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What are some plans that you are currently designing for the University and students?

"We are planning to establish modern labs in our college to help students experiment with their ideas"

We are planning to establish more super specialized research labs like Neurological Lab, Zebrafish Lab, Polymer Lab, Nanotechnology and GLP Laboratory along with cell lines. And our main objective behind this is to conduct experiments and help students conduct practical tests of their own ideas. This way, they will learn more and will grow everywhere.

How do you establish a healthy relationship and environment in your institute?

"By ensuring a healthy working-learning culture for everyone and being a good communicator"

I firmly believe that it is very essential to establish a healthy working environment for the betterment of students and ensure good education and research facilities for them in college. Therefore we regularly communicate with our students and fellow faculties. Also discussion sessions are held as and when required and a transparent and trustworthy communication environment does the rest of the work. Lastly, we have given complete freedom to everyone to present their views, suggestions and inputs in a respectable way.

Are there any new courses which you are planning to launch in the upcoming academic year?

"We are planning to introduce new certification courses for our students"

Our college is planning to introduce 12 certificate courses in the upcoming academic year and this will be equivalent to 2 credits and will also be helpful for students in securing good jobs in reputed organizations.