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The University of Copenhagen and the University of Southern Denmark are leading a new center that will boost the pharmaceutical sciences education by integrating data science at all levels of education, from bachelor's, master's and PhD level to continuing education. The new center is supported by the Lundbeck Foundation, the Novo Nordisk Foundation, and the LEO Foundation with DKK 123 million over a six-year period. 

The pharmaceutical sciences programmes in Denmark are at a high, international level, and now research-based teaching is being introduced that integrates data science into the education of students. This means that graduates will also have skills and knowledge of methods from the data science field in the future. 

With a total uptake of more than 300 bachelor's and 300 master's students each year in the pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Copenhagen and the University of Southern Denmark, the center’s efforts will provide unique opportunities for many future students. This also applies to the Danish life science in the areas of research, innovation and industry.

The vision of the center is that pharmaceutical data science becomes a catalyst for life science and healthcare strongholds. The center will develop state-of-the-art research-based programmes for the students, who will thereby be able to navigate efficiently between both the pharmaceutical sciences and data science.

Interim Head of Center, Professor Jette Sandholm Kastrup says:

"We have been working for a long time to get this center up and running and are very grateful for the great support from the three foundations. The center will play a crucial role in future-proofing our pharmaceutical sciences programmes, to prepare our graduates for a labour market that introduces data science and artificial intelligence with an exponential speed. I am very much looking forward to developing pharmaceutical data science in close collaboration between the two universities and the employers of our graduates."

From the Lundbeck Foundations' point of view, the establishment of the Center for Pharmaceutical Data Science Education is both a source of great pleasure and calls for great expectations for the future pharmaceutical sciences experts in Denmark: 

"Being able to handle the enormous amount of available data, from molecule to patient, will create the healthcare solutions of the future. CPDSE represents a unique research-based programme that merges data science and pharmaceutical sciences. The programme will be an important contribution to future-proofing Denmark's position as an international leader in pharmaceutical data science", says Jan Egebjerg, Senior Vice President at the Lundbeck Foundation.

"Pharmaceutical data science" – a fusion of two disciplines for the benefit of many

Artificial intelligence, machine learning and the use of big data open a huge area of knowledge, new data sources and methods, which should be integrated in the best possible way in the pharmaceutical sciences education.

This transformation towards data-driven solutions in society is entirely dependent on academically trained graduates with the necessary skills. 

In the educational programmes, the new center will ensure the students' qualifications in data science by upgrading relevant compulsory bachelor's and master's courses. Furthermore, the center will establish completely new courses in pharmaceutical data science at all levels of the programmes, also for the benefit of students from many other programmes.

The new Center for Pharmaceutical Data Science Education (CPDSE) is supported by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the Lundbeck Foundation and the LEO Foundation with DKK 123 million over a six-year period. 

The center will be hosted by the Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, and as one of the center’s first activities, a Head of Center is to be recruited.