Dr. C.S. Kandasamy is the Professor and Head, Department of Pharmacognosy, Karpagam College of Pharmacy. He has done D.Pharm (April 1992), B.Pharm (April 1996), M.Pharm in Pharmacognosy (Mar 1998) from JSS College of Pharmacy, Ooty and Completed his Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmacy / Pharmacognosy (2016) from SunRise University, Rajasthan. He has overall 25 years of teaching, research and administrative experience. He has guided 5 PG and 25 UG projects. He has published 30 papers in various peer-reviewed indexed national and international journals with a good cumulative impact factor. He is currently the Vice President of Association of Pharmaceutical Teachers of India (APTI) TamilNadu State Branch, Vice President (National) of All Pharmacognosist and Phytochemist Association (APPA), Member of Indian Pharmaceutical Association (IPA), Member of Indian Pharmacy Graduates’ Association (IPGA).

Karpagam College of Pharmacy

What is the latest program that you are offering in your institute/ dept. which will help students outperform and stand apart from the crowd?

Our institute offers B.Pharm., M.Pharm., Pharm.D. and Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutics. All of these programs will help the students surpass and be unique from the crowd as these all courses are public health-oriented. B. Pharmacy graduates could effectively sell and market the medications by explaining the mechanism to the Doctors. They could get Government jobs as Pharmacist, Drugs Inspectors and as Analysts at State/Central level. They could work as a Pharmacist at a Retail Pharmacy. M. Pharmacy graduates can work as a Professor in academic institutions. They can also get Government jobs as mentioned for B.Pharm graduates. They act as Senior Scientists in Drug Development sectors such as Production, QA, QC, Regulatory Affairs, R & D at leading Multinational Pharmaceutical & Research Industries in India and abroad. Pharm.D graduates are placed as Clinical Pharmacists in Hospitals. They could monitor adverse drug reactions, medication errors and prescription errors at the hospitals. They give Patient Counseling effectively.

What are the factors that make this program the best for the students to opt for?

The factors that make this program the best for the students to opt are Highly Qualified and Well Experienced Teaching fraternity, Great Teaching-Learning process, Modern teaching methodologies, Excellent Infrastructure for academics and research, Best research activities, Well stocked library, Highly equipped and modern laboratories, Wi-Fi enabled campus, Effective Training and Placement activities, Established Hospital facilities for case studies, Exclusive Hostel facilities for Boys and Girls, Transport facilities in and around the city in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and Ragging free campus to motivate, show cause the leadership and professional skills. 

What would you say are the “best practices” in the course you’re offering?

We offer the “best practices” in the course including Training students to bridge the gap between the industrial needs and the academic curricular content through Practice school exercises, Teaching about the standard operating procedures of all the analytical (Preliminary to Sophisticated) instruments, training the individual students onCalibration of instruments, Conducting Orientation sessions to the freshers and Placement training sessions to the pre final and outgoing batches will ensure the recruitment of students / alumni after the completion of their course, Motivating, Training and Hands on Exposure to analytical method development, Stability studies, Fingerprinting, standardization and quality control methods of Pharmaceuticals and herbal products at our laboratory, Carrying out Consultancy works for other Institutions and Industries through Extraction, Isolation, Purification, Characterization, Structural Elucidation of of various herbal drugs, herbal formulation using latest and modern Spectroscopic and Chromatographic techniques, and Focusing and monitoring on the skill development, academic performance, research abilities of individual students through Mentorship. 

Check Karpagam College of Pharmacy Placement

How did you train yourself/faculty to deliver this program to the students?

We train ourselves/ faculty to deliver this program to the students by Continuous Effective Teaching Learning process, Designing academic plans, Preparing and delivering Scope and Course outcomes to the students for each course in the program, Maintaining hard and soft copies of updated Course materials for each course, Using various teaching modules like ppt presentations, Smart board classes, Video presentations along with the board and chalk classes, seminar session to students, Improving Student – Teachers interactions through group discussions, oral examinations, slip tests and assignments, Providing special coaching sessions to the slow learners to develop their academic performances, and Fast learners are trained to give seminars on syllabus topics and also to prepare display charts on important concepts. 

How do you tend to build an industry connected with this program? 

We prefer to build an industry connect with this program by Signing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU’s) with Leading Multinational Pharmaceutical, Clinical and Herbal Industries, Leading Academic Institutions in India and Abroad, and Collaborating with Industries for research works leading to new drug development, Quality Control and Standardization of Pharmaceutical and Herbal Products. 

What are the types of projects that the students are working on through this program?

The types of projects that the students are working on through this program in the Pharmaceutical Analysis department are Pharmacognostical & Phytochemical Investigations of Medicinal Plants, Extraction, Isolation of Phytoconstituents of Medicinal Plants, Preparation & Standardization of Herbal Formulation, Quality Control and Standardization of AYUSH Drugs and Formulation, Bio-autographic method development for in vitro antidiabetic studies, Herbal compounds fingerprinting by HPTLC to analyze the secondary metabolites, Quantitative Analysis of isolated compounds, natural extracts, herbal formulations, etc.

What valuable advice would you like to give the students for them to have a prosperous career ahead?

The valuable advice I would like to give the students, for them to have a prosperous career ahead is to Participate in Career guidance programs, Decide your preferred job, get experienced, never have frequent changes, so that you may lose the uniqueness and experience, Get selected through Campus Interviews or through half campus Interviews, enroll in the Job, be dedicated, sincere, punctual and stick on in the job for a minimum period of two years, show cause your talents and get promotions in the same field in the same company, Be Motivated to enhance your Entrepreneurship skills, Guide the upcoming Pharma generations regarding Start-up grants, Improve your communication skills, organizing skills by enhancing contact with outside world, Avail coaching to attend competitive exams for recruitment and also for higher studies. Understand your social responsibility and enhance your abilities to serve the needy in society. 

What made you decide to become a teacher?

I decided to become a teacher because My Teachers, professors are my role models in inspiring their students. I recognized my inner skills and understood that I can continue the inspiring potential of my Teachers and professors. I had confidence that I have gained enough subject knowledge required for our program and deliver the same to the upcoming Pharma Buds in our field. I can communicate the learned content effectively and efficiently to my students. Teaching is the Noble Profession which I liked to enter for a Public Service. I could increase my fluency in the Universal Language. Also, I could develop my personal profile by adding my research activities.