The pharmacists of tomorrow need a new data toolbox

Hanging plants cover the glass wall leading into the meeting room.

Large pictures of a lush forest hang on one wall, while another is painted a calming shade of green.

The doors are framed by unpainted wooden doorframes, allowing the light-coloured wood to stand out.

Nature is knocking at the door, eager to find its way into the University of Copenhagen premises that house the Center for Pharmaceutical Data Science Education – or simply CPDSE.

The natural elements provide a contrast to the world of data you have just stepped into.

Data may be at the heart of everything here, but that doesn't mean creativity has been swept under the carpet. Quite the opposite.

The centre is designed to be a lively place. The walls separating the old, traditional university offices have been torn down to make room for a large, open communal area.

Here, people bump into each other for a quick chat on the sofa, gather for Friday breakfast or brainstorm in small groups, filling one of the many whiteboards with new ideas.

All the doors on the floor have also been replaced with glass doors. Openness matters.

"I want to develop our degree programmes, and that's exactly what this centre was created to do."

Every little detail has been carefully considered, and the atmosphere feels more like a tech startup than a university centre.

"I've been in the university world for many years. This is something different. There aren't so many boxes to fit into, and people aren't afraid to try new things," says Tommy Johansen.

He is Head of Studies for the Pharmacy Programme at the University of Copenhagen and is not actually a permanent member of the data science centre.

Nevertheless, he is a regular participant in various working groups, attends the centre's seminars and is a familiar face when the team gathers for breakfast every Friday.

"I basically stood up in the schoolyard and said: Pick me! Because I could see so many opportunities. I want to develop our degree programmes, and that's exactly what this centre was created to do," Tommy says.

A strong drive and Friday breakfast

It is not just the professional discussions that draw Tommy to CPDSE. The energy and enthusiasm buzzing around the centre are just as important, he explains.

"I could easily just sit in my own office and attend meetings on Teams or Zoom, but the sense of community and the atmosphere they've created here are incredibly inspiring."

CPDSE is somewhere people want to be. They want to be part of the club.

And that is something Centre Director Morten Lindow is particularly proud of.

"The strong drive within the centre is perhaps one of the most important things. When you have that, things start happening almost by themselves. It doesn't become a top-down organisation where I'm sitting with some kind of master plan," Morten says.

CPDSE opened two years ago, and Morten took up the position as Centre Director a year and a half ago. He previously spent many years working in the pharmaceutical industry, including at Santaris Pharma, Lundbeck and Roche.

From his experience in the industry, he knows how important it is for people to spend time together in person if brilliant ideas are to emerge.

That is why, from day one, he has been determined to tear down the old walls and create spaces where people can meet.

Data science is like a Swiss Army knife

CPDSE is not only based in the Danish capital. The centre is a collaboration between the University of Southern Denmark and the University of Copenhagen, with the aim of bringing data science and pharmacy closer together.

In simple terms, data science is about understanding and analysing data – skills that are increasingly in demand in both research and industry.

"Historically, it has been difficult to bridge the gap between the pharmacy geeks and the data geeks. They haven't spoken the same language, so there has been a need for intermediaries to translate what the two groups were actually saying," Morten explains.

"I hope we can help ensure that the pharmacists of tomorrow also speak the language of data. That they speak both languages, so there's no longer a need for a translator."

"I hope we can help ensure that the pharmacists of tomorrow also speak the language of data."

In the future, the industry will increasingly look for data skills when recruiting employees. And according to Jacob Fredegaard Hansen, that makes perfect sense.

Jacob is a Data Science Specialist at CPDSE, and he emphasises that data and an understanding of how to use it can provide a shortcut to entirely new solutions and products.

"We already have huge amounts of data, and if we become better at using and understanding it, we may be able to extract even more biological knowledge from it," Jacob says, continuing:

"By looking at large datasets and identifying patterns, we might find the needle in the haystack that could lead to a new drug."

Understanding data opens up opportunities to ask entirely new questions that would otherwise never have been possible.

"Data is a bit like a Swiss Army knife. You can do all sorts of things with it if you know how to use it," Jacob says.

He knows better than most how exciting the combination of data and biology can be. He holds a bachelor's degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and a master's degree in Bioinformatics.

"I think you can achieve a great deal with pharmacy alone, and you can also achieve a great deal with data science alone. But the more you understand both pharmacy and data science, the more you can contribute in the end," Jacob says.

The deadline is 2030

One of the centre's primary tasks is to integrate data science into the pharmacy degree programmes at the University of Copenhagen and the University of Southern Denmark.

On paper, that might not sound particularly difficult. But in practice, it has proven to be quite a challenge.

Changing a university course sets a whole range of administrative processes in motion, meaning that changes do not happen overnight. They are more likely to take a couple of years.

At the same time, lecturers need to be brought on board, and they are currently under pressure from almost every direction due to budget cuts and increasing demands, both large and small.

So Centre Director Morten has to bring plenty of patience to work – while hoping that things will start moving faster in the future.

"I'm pleased that we've succeeded in recruiting a lot of people who now know each other and are working together to drive things forward. We've managed to create an ecosystem, so the foundations are now largely in place. I'm convinced that this will help things move faster from here," he says.

"I'm pleased that we've succeeded in recruiting a lot of people who now know each other and are working together to drive things forward."

So far, CPDSE has recruited six PhD students and awarded six scholarships.

The centre has also launched professional development initiatives for course coordinators. And although progress in integrating more data science into university courses has been slow, it has successfully been introduced into several subjects.

But the centre is also exploring alternative approaches, because the clock is ticking.

CPDSE has received a total of DKK 123 million in funding from the Lundbeck Foundation, the LEO Foundation and the Novo Nordisk Foundation through to 2030.

After that, the centre will need to become self-sustaining and, hopefully, continue operating under the universities themselves.

"We need to deliver as much as we can within that period, and then it will be up to the universities to carry the work forward afterwards," Morten says.

"So we do feel a certain urgency to make things happen. We can't rely solely on the rather slow process of changing degree programme regulations. We need to make progress in other areas that aren't quite so heavily regulated."

One of the initiatives launched by the centre is a coding club for students.

It is a voluntary activity outside regular teaching hours, where students can learn to code over pizza and hopefully discover what data can do.

"We call it 'Code Club', and it's all about sparking curiosity among students. It can be a little difficult to attract students, but we're trying to spread the word as widely as possible," Tommy says.

Building bridges between the two universities

The young data science centre currently faces plenty of challenges – but also opportunities.

Artificial intelligence is playing an increasingly important role, and since the centre was established two years ago, it has already had to adjust its direction to keep pace with developments.

The AI train is moving at full speed, and the centre naturally needs to be on board.

Developments outside the university walls are moving fast, so part of the centre's mission is also to push things forward and shake up the sometimes rather slow-moving culture found in university corridors.

"We have an enormous responsibility to educate our students so they understand not only drugs and data, but now also AI. We have to keep up with developments in the real world," Jacob says.

"We have an enormous responsibility to educate our students so they understand not only drugs and data, but now also AI."

Although there are still many challenges to tackle, Jacob, Morten and Tommy agree that the centre has already achieved something truly important.

And it is not really about data at all. You could call it an unexpected bonus.

"We've built a community across the two schools of pharmacy at the University of Copenhagen and the University of Southern Denmark. My impression is that there wasn't much communication between them before, but the centre has acted – and continues to act – as a bridge, so people now know each other across the two universities," Jacob says.

These new relationships have led to a greater exchange of knowledge and experience – naturally about data science, but also about all sorts of other topics, Tommy explains.

"We've started coordinating much more closely, and from my perspective, the two degree programmes are now really beginning to benefit enormously from each other thanks to the centre."