SSPC_Brochure_2017_4 Screen

molecule
material
medicine

synthesis
of the molecule
developing more environmentally
sustainable methods for drug
manufacturing
molecule
isolation
of the material
increasing the range of medicines
available to the public
material
formulation
of the medicine
reducing drug manufacturing costs
medicine

CONTENTS
P2
NEXT
GENERATION
DRUG
MANUFACTURE
P6
UNPARALLELED
INDUSTRY
ENGAGEMENT
P10
SCIENTIFIC
EXCELLENCE
P18
WORLD
LEADING
INVESTIGATORS
P24
FUNDING &
PARTNERSHIP
P26
DEVELOPING
NEXT
GENERATION
SCIENTISTS

OUR MISSION
TO POSITION IRELAND AS A GLOBAL
HUB FOR PROCESS INNOVATION
AND ADVANCED MANUFACTURING
IN THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY

SSPC IN NUMBERS
€44
MILLION
INVESTMENT
38
POST-DOCTORAL
RESEARCHERS
21
RESEARCH
PROJECTS
41
INVESTIGATORS
63
PhD
CANDIDATES
43
RESEARCH
PERFORMING
ORGANISATIONS
& INDUSTRY
PARTNERS
www.sspc.ie

SSPC
GLOBAL
PARTNERSHIPS
Canada
TORONTO
IRELAND
United States
CALIFORNIA
FLORIDA
ILLINOIS
INDIANA
MASSACHUSETTS
NEW JERSEY
NEW YORK
TEXAS
TO POSITION IRELAND AS A GLOBAL HUB FOR PROCESS

Europe
BELGIUM
FRANCE
ITALY
NETHERLANDS
SWITZERLAND
UK
Asia
CHINA
SINGAPORE
INNOVATION AND ADVANCED MANUFACTURING IN THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY

1
NEXT GENERATION
DRUG MANUFACTURE

Pharmaceutical manufacturing contributes significantly to Ireland’s
economy. The industry employs over 25,000 individuals directly
and 24,500 indirectly, and produces over 50% of all exports,
making Ireland the second-largest pharmaceutical exporter in
the world. Each pharmaceutical drug produced for the market
is the culmination of at least a decade of sustained science
and engineering research that transforms a molecule into a
pharmaceutical material and, ultimately, into a medicine for the
benefit of patients, society and the wider economy. Next generation
drug manufacture will require a more integrated approach to
manufacturing pharmaceuticals, aimed at reducing the time and cost
to market and meeting the ever increasing regulatory requirements.
Launched in July 2013, the SSPC research programme leads the way for next generation
drug manufacture. The SSPC is the largest research collaboration in Ireland, and one of the
largest globally, within the pharmaceutical area. The SSPC represents a significant combined
Science Foundation Ireland and industry investment of €42 million. The SSPC builds upon the
success and foundations of the Solid State Pharmaceutical Cluster (2007-2013), which was
funded by Science Foundation Ireland’s Strategic Research Cluster programme. The Solid
State Pharmaceutical Cluster research programme focused exclusively upon the crystallisation
stage of the manufacturing process. Within the pharmaceutical industry, this stage is the
most challenging aspect of manufacturing, as there is a significant lack of fundamental
understanding of the science and engineering challenges at this stage of the process.
Building upon this success, the SSPC research programme now spans the entire
pharmaceutical production chain from synthesis of the molecule, to the isolation of the
material, to the formulation of the medicine. SSPC research focuses upon developing more
environmentally sustainable methods for drug manufacturing; increasing the range of
medicines available to the public; and reducing drug manufacturing costs. The SSPC aims
to deliver industry relevant solutions, which result in job growth and retention within the
pharmaceutical industry in Ireland.
3

The SSPC’s inclusive, equitable and collaborative
model between our 22 industry partners, 9
research performing organisations and 12
international academic collaborators, successfully
links experienced scientists and engineers, in
both academia and the pharmaceutical industry,
to address critical research challenges through
the SSPC research programme. This collaborative
model aims to build a strong pharmaceutical
community and a pharma-friendly environment in
Ireland, and is key to SSPC research innovations
and future success.
DEVELOPING
more
environmentally
sustainable
methods for drug
manufacture
Building upon our strong foundations, along with
our successful collaborative model to attract
new global industry and academic partners, the
SSPC leads the way for next generation drug
manufacture.
Professor Kieran Hodnett
SSPC Scientific Director
INCREASING
the range of
medicines available
to the public
kieran.hodnett@ul.ie
REDUCING
drug
manufacturing
costs
4

“
The SSPC aims to deliver
industry relevant solutions,
which result in job growth
and retention within the
pharmaceutical industry
in Ireland.
”

2
UNPARALLELED
INDUSTRY
ENGAGEMENT

Trust, a culture of inclusivity and equity, clear goals and objectives,
commitment and mutual benefit are just some of the factors that
the SSPC fosters within its successful industry-academia, and interindustry
collaborations. The success of the SSPC model is evidenced
by the fact that since its establishment, the SSPC has grown in
membership to include 22 industry partners, 9 research performing
organisations and 12 international academic collaborators.
Since 2012, the scale of the SSPC has
increased to over three fold its original size,
and is now the largest research collaboration
in Ireland, and one of the largest globally,
within the pharmaceutical area.
The SSPC is transforming the landscape for
the multinational pharma sector in Ireland.
Prior to the SSPC, Ireland was perceived as
a predominately manufacturing jurisdiction.
As a result of the SSPC this has changed.
The SSPC’s ability to facilitate multi-company
projects within the precompetitive space as
well as capturing the knowledge of an entire
community has led to a paradigm shift for the
sector in Ireland. Sites in Ireland now deliver
a greater value proposition to corporate. Irish
sites are no longer viewed as an exporter
of challenges to corporate; moreover an
importer of challenges from global sister sites
and an exporter of cutting edge solutions
based on highly impactful scientific and
engineering rigour.
research services globally. As a result of the
SSPC and companies like APC, companies
can now take on development work, which
they could not have before.
The SSPC prides itself upon its inclusive,
equitable and collaborative model between
our 22 industry partners, 9 research
performing organisations and 12 international
academic collaborators.
Jon O’Halloran
SSPC General Manager
jon.ohalloran@ul.ie
In the SME space the SSPC has also delivered.
In 2011, the Applied Process Company
(APC), a current SSPC industry partner, was
established by Principal Investigator Professor
Brian Glennon and Post-Doctoral Researcher,
Dr Mark Barrett, University College Dublin.
APC provides contract pharmaceutical
7

Optical micrograph
showing different
carbamazepine
crystalline polymorphs
produced from
methanol using
supercritical CO 2
BY DR LUIS PADRELA, SSPC

BUILDING A STRONG PHARMACEUTICAL COMMUNITY AND
A PHARMA-FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT IN IRELAND
Research Performing Organisations
Industry Partners
International Academic Collaborators
9

3
SCIENTIFIC
EXCELLENCE

synthesis
“ Bold, Ambitious,
Wide Ranging and
Highly Innovative...
EXTERNAL REVIEW OF
SSPC RESEARCH PROGRAMME
”
molecule
The SSPC supports 38 Investigators, 34 Post-
Doctoral Researchers and 60 PhD Candidates.
In total, the SSPC supports over 250 active
members across academia and industry on a
national and international basis.
The SSPC research programme spans the entire pharmaceutical
production chain from synthesis of the molecule, to the isolation of
the material, to the formulation of the medicine. The SSPC research
programme focuses upon developing more environmentally
sustainable methods for drug manufacture; increasing the
range of medicines available to the public; and reducing drug
manufacturing costs. The overarching objective is to better
understand mechanisms, control processes and predict outcomes
for the efficient and environmentally sustainable production of safe
medicines. The SSPC research programme is organised into three
interconnecting strands, which actively reflect the three distinct
steps in the manufacture of modern medicines.
STRAND 1
New Frontiers in Pharmaceutical Synthesis:
developing more environmentally sustainable
methods for drug manufacturing
isolation
material
STRAND 2
Crystal Growth and Design:
increasing the range of medicines available to the
public
rmulation
medicine
STRAND 3
Drug Product Formulation and Manufacture:
reducing drug manufacturing costs
11

In total, the SSPC supports 20 state of the art research projects.
The SSPC is structured to deliver two primary outputs: to achieve scientific excellence along
with economic and societal impact in Ireland. To achieve these outputs the SSPC research
programme is divided into platform research projects and targeted research projects.
Platform Research
The SSPC research programme
supports nine platform projects,
which are targeted towards the
progression of scientific state of the
art, driven by scientific challenges
of the area and aimed at achieving
scientific excellence.
Targeted Projects
The SSPC supports 9 targeted projects, which
are driven by scientific challenges of specific
industrial needs. Under targeted projects, the
SSPC also supports 2 linker projects, which are
the interactions between the three strands. Linker
projects are vital in order to make progress in this
area, as they concentrate effort at interfaces where
the most important developments need to take
place. The programme has been designed to pay
particular attention to how attributes from each
strand can impact upon each of the other strands.
Optical micrograph
image showing a Form
II piracetam crystal
undergoing a polymorphic
transformation to a more
stable Form III crystal in
methanol at 25°C
BY DR ANTHONY MAHER, SSPC,
WINNER OF SFI
RESEARCH IMAGE OF THE YEAR
COMPETITION 2014.
12

DEVELOPING MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY
SUSTAINABLE METHODS FOR DRUG MANUFACTURE
Strand 1: New Frontiers in Pharmaceutical Synthesis
The focus of Strand 1 research is on enantioselective and efficient synthetic routes and
processes.
MAJOR THEMES INCLUDE:
• New catalysts and systems for cleaner production with excellent selectivity in
asymmetric synthesis, elimination of hazardous reagents and operation in benign
conditions.
• Innovative process technologies operating in flow conditions and where appropriate
achieving multiple transformation steps in a single reactor.
• New chemical methods for the efficient removal of impurities and side products.
INCREASING THE RANGE OF
MEDICINES AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC
Strand 2: Crystal Growth and Design
The focus of Strand 2 research is on science and process engineering underpinning the
crystallisation of complex organic molecules with conformational flexibility and a multitude of
functional groups. Impurities and solvent selection are central to this strand.
MAJOR THEMES INCLUDE:
• Study of the underlying molecular interactions in supersaturated solutions and at
interfaces.
• Understanding the mechanisms that control product crystal properties such as
crystal structure, purity, shape and size.
• Exploiting these mechanisms to tailor and control crystal properties; to scale up and
scale down processes; and to develop model-based control for improved product
quality in traditional batch crystallisations as well as in emerging technologies
like continuous processing, cocrystallisation, nanocrystallisation and crystallisation
into excipient matrices.
13

REDUCING DRUG
MANUFACTURING COSTS
Strand 3: Drug Product Formulation
The focus of Strand 3 research is on bringing stronger scientific and process engineering
principles and knowledge into the domain of Solid State Pharmaceutics, which up to now
has essentially been empiric. This improved approach is demanded by the Quality by
Design knowledge-based approach to develop new products and formulations.
MAJOR THEMES INCLUDE:
• Understanding the nature and strength of interactions between APIs and excipients.
• Identification of currently unknown critical attributes in APIs and excipients that lead
to failures during formulation.
• Development of new materials and technologies for the generation and
stabilisation of the amorphous state, which is one approach to realising the
potential of BSC Class II poorly soluble drugs.
14

Butyl paraben
crystals grown from
acetonitrile solution
BY DR LIJUN JIA, SSPC

CUTTING EDGE BIOPHARMACEUTICAL RESEARCH
The SSPC is committed to conducting cutting edge
biopharmaceutical research. The SSPC works with seven
industry partners; Allergan Pharmaceuticals Ireland, BioMarin
International Limited, Eli Lilly and Company, Genzyme Ireland Ltd
- A Sanofi Company, Janssen Biologics, MSD and Pfizer Ireland
Pharmaceuticals and three research performing organisations;
the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training
(NIBRT), Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and Dublin City University
(DCU) - as part of an Advanced Biopharmaceutical Technologies
research collaboration.
This collaboration received €1.05m in funding from the Department of Jobs, Innovation and
Enterprise (DJEI) through Science Foundation Ireland’s (SFI) Spokes programme, coupled
with €450,000 in cash contributions from industry partners.
The manufacturing process of biotherapeutic drugs is complex and costly, with problems
relating to formulation and protein instability often affecting the biological performance
of these therapeutics. As a result of this Advanced Biopharmaceutical Technologies
collaboration, Ireland’s leading scientists and engineers are working with industry partners
to develop innovative single use bioprocessing solutions and to examine the effects of
extractable and leachable agents on product quality. This research generates significant
intellectual property for Irish universities and gains commercial advantage for Irish-based
biopharma companies.
16

“
This research generates
significant intellectual
property for Irish
universities and gains
commercial advantage
for Irish-based
biopharma companies.
”

4
WORLD LEADING
INVESTIGATORS

Professor Kieran Hodnett
SSPC SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR
Email: kieran.hodnett@ul.ie
Prof. Hodnett is the former Dean of the Faculty of Science
and Engineering at the University of Limerick (2007-2013),
having previously served as Head of the Department of
Chemical and Environmental Sciences (1995-1998) and
Director of the Materials and Surface Science Institute
(1999-2003). Prof. Hodnett played a lead role in the
Aughinish Alumina- University of Limerick 5 Year Research Collaboration, which provided the
foundations for the Solid State Pharmaceutical Cluster (2007-2013). Prof. Hodnett has published
over 120 papers in refereed journals, which have over 2800 ISI citations, and has supervised 30
PhD students to completion. Prof. Hodnett’s current research interests are in the polymorphism
in pharmaceutical compounds and active pharmaceutical crystallisation into excipient matrices.
Professor Anita Maguire
STRAND 1 LEADER AND
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Email: a.maguire@ucc.ie
Prof. Maguire undertook
undergraduate and postgraduate
studies in Chemistry at University
College Cork (UCC) (B.Sc.
1985, Ph.D. 1989). Following
postdoctoral research first at
Namur, Belgium then at the
University of Exeter, Prof. Maguire
returned to the Department of
Chemistry in UCC in 1991, initially
as a College Lecturer, then as
Associate Professor in Organic
Chemistry in 2002. In 2004,
Prof. Maguire was appointed to
the newly-established Chair of
Pharmaceutical Chemistry, jointly
in the Department of Chemistry
and the School of Pharmacy,
and has played a leading role in
development of the School of
Pharmacy in recent years. Since
her appointment at UCC, Prof.
Maguire has played a strategic
role in the development of
teaching and learning, including
the introduction of Medicinal
and Pharmaceutical Chemistry at
undergraduate level for the first
time. Over the past 23 years, Prof.
Maguire has led an active research
team focusing on synthetic organic
and pharmaceutical chemistry,
which interacts extensively
with the pharmaceutical sector
in Ireland and internationally.
Prof. Maguire is committed to
postgraduate education, ensuring
research students gain the skills
required to underpin their future
careers. 37 PhD and five MSc
students have graduated from her
research team since 1997, most
of whom have developed careers
within the pharmaceutical industry
both in Ireland and internationally.
Prof. Maguire was appointed as
Vice President for Research and
Innovation in January 2011.
19

Professor Pat Guiry
STRAND 1 LEADER AND PRINCIPAL
INVESTIGATOR
Email: patrick.guiry@ucd.ie
Prof. Pat Guiry is a Professor of Synthetic Organic
Chemistry at University College Dublin. Prof. Guiry holds
a PhD and a BSc (Hons), Chemistry from University
College Dublin. In 2013 Prof. Guiry was elected as a
Member of the Royal Irish Academy and in 2014, Prof.
Guiry was appointed Royal Irish Academy Vice-Chair, Physical, Chemical and Mathematical
Sciences and was awarded the Boyle-Higgins Medal by the Institute of Chemistry of Ireland.
Prof. Guiry’s research specialises in synthetic organic chemistry, with interests in both the
development of asymmetric synthetic methodology through the application of new chiral
ligands in homogeneous metal-catalysed transformations and in the total synthesis of
compounds of biological interest.
Professor Åke C Rasmuson
STRAND 2 LEADER AND PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Email: Ake.Rasmuson@ul.ie
Prof. Rasmuson is a Professor of Chemical Engineering and Industrial
Chemistry at the University of Limerick (UL). Having received both an
MSc and a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the Royal Institute of
Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden, Prof. Rasmuson went on to
receive a chair at KTH before joining UL in 2008. Prof. Rasmuson’s main
field of research is various aspects of crystallization and crystallization
processes including: fundamentals of solubility, nucleation, growth and
agglomeration; experimental determination of solution thermodynamics
and crystallization kinetics; crystallization of organic molecules from
solution; influence of hydrodynamics and mixing in crystallization
processes; and batch crystallization process design. In addition, Prof.
Rasmuson has experience of hydrodynamics and mixing in agitated
tanks, recovery of methane from anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge
and recovery of rare earth elements from mineral waste and spent car
batteries. Prof. Rasmuson has been the adviser of 23 PhD programs, 23
Licentiate theses and approximately 70 MSc theses.
The research group at present
has six postdoctoral researchers
and six PhD students. Prof.
Rasmuson has published 112
papers in scientific journals,
presented 54 conference papers
and coauthored 30 reports for
industrial cooperation projects.
20

Professor Brian Glennon
STRAND 2 LEADER AND PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Email: brian.glennon@ucd.ie
Prof. Glennon is a Professor of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering
in University College Dublin (UCD) and Director of Pharmaceutical
Process Engineering Research Group. The main research interests of
the group are in the development and application of measurement,
modelling and control strategies for the design and optimization of
pharmaceutical processes. Prof. Glennon is co-founder of APC Ltd.,
a process engineering technologies and solutions company which works with the majority of the world’s
leading pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies. Prior to joining UCD, Prof. Glennon worked with
pharmaceutical company Merck & Co., Inc.
Professor Anne Marie Healy
STRAND 3 LEADER AND PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Email: healyam@tcd.ie
Prof. Healy is Professor in Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical
Technology in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences,
Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and is currently Head of School. Prof.
Healy is a registered pharmacist; she holds a B.Sc. in Pharmacy and a
Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics, both from TCD. Prof. Healy joined the School
of Pharmacy, TCD in 1992 as a Lecturer in Pharmaceutics. In 2010, Prof.
Healy was elected Fellow of Trinity College. Prof. Healy has over 60
peer reviewed publications and has given over 100 presentations at
national and international conferences. Prof. Healy’s research interests
include pharmaceutical material science, amorphous forms, formulating
poorly soluble drugs and pulmonary drug delivery.
21

Professor Gavin Walker
STRAND 3 LEADER AND PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Email: Gavin.Walker@ul.ie
Prof. Walker was appointed as the Bernal Chair
of Pharmaceutical Powder Engineering at the
University of Limerick (UL) in 2012. Prof. Walker
is also a Visiting Research Professor of Chemical
Engineering at Queen’s University Belfast, UK. Prof.
Walker’s research interests include particle/powder
technology, granulation processes and materials
engineering. Prof. Walker has published over
130 international journal papers (>2500 citations,
h-index 26) on various aspects of chemical and
process engineering and is Associate Editor of
Chemical Engineering Journal and Chemical
Engineering Research and Design. Prof. Walker has
been awarded two Royal Academy of Engineering
(UK) fellowships: the ExxonMobil Fellowship in
2002 and the Leverhulme Trust Senior Research
Fellowship in 2009.
Funded Investigators
Title and Name: Institution: E-mail
Professor Martin Albrecht University College Dublin martin.albrecht@ucd.ie
Dr Niall Barron DCU Niall.barron@dcu.ie
Dr Jonathan Bones NIBRT Jonathan.bones@nibrt.ie
Dr Colin Clarke NIBRT Colin.clarke@nibrt.ie
Professor Martin Clynes DCU Martin.clynes@dcu.ie
Professor Stephen Connon Trinity College Dublin connons@tcd.ie
Dr Abina Crean University College Cork a.crean@ucc.ie
22

Funded Investigators (contd.)
Title and Name: Institution: E-mail
Professor Gavin Davey Trinity College Dublin gdavey@tcd.ie
Professor Alan Dobson University College Cork a.dobson@ucc.ie
Dr Andrea Erxleben NUI Galway andrea.erxleben@nuigalway.ie
Dr Patrick Frawley University of Limerick patrick.frawley@ul.ie
Dr Nick Gathergood Dublin City University nick.gathergood@dcu.ie
Professor Declan Gilheany University College Dublin declan.gilheany@ucd.ie
Dr Jerrard Hayes Trinity College Dublin jehayes@tcd.ie
Dr Clement L. Higginbotham Athlone Institute of Technology chigginbotham@ait.ie
Dr Sarah Hudson University of Limerick sarah.husdson@ul.ie
Dr Simon E. Lawrence University College Cork s.lawrence@ucc.ie
Professor Edmond Magner University of Limerick edmond.magner@ul.ie
Dr Paula Meleady DCU Paula.meleady@dcu.ie
Dr Andrew McDonald Trinity College Dublin amcdonald@tcd.ie
Dr Gerard McGlacken University College Cork g.mcglacken@ucc.ie
Dr Niaobh McLoughlin NIBRT Niaobh.mcloughlin@nibrt.ie
Dr Peter McLoughlin Waterford Institute of Technology pmcloughlin@wit.ie
Dr John Milne NIBRT John.milne@nibrt.ie
Dr Ken Hun Mok Trinity College Dublin Mok1@tcd.ie
Dr Humphrey Moynihan University College Cork h.moynihan@ucc.ie
Professor Fergal O’Gara University College Cork f.ogara@ucc.ie
Dr Francesca Paradisi University College Dublin francesca.paradisi@ucd.ie
Dr Kevin M. Ryan University of Limerick kevin.m.ryan@ul.ie
Dr Alan Ryder National University of Ireland, Galway alan.ryder@nuigalway.ie
Dr Lidia Tajber Trinity College Dublin lidia.tajber@tcd.ie
23

5
FUNDING &
PARTNERSHIP

THE SSPC IS DEDICATED TO OBTAINING
EXTERNAL RESEARCH FUNDING
INTERNATIONAL LEADING CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE
The SSPC aims to be an internationally leading centre of excellence in synthesis
and solid state pharmaceuticals. Acquiring funding and fostering collaboration with
other leading international academics and centres is critical to achieving this aim. The
objective of the SSPC’s collaboration strategy is to enhance the scientific, engineering
and technical capital available to the centre. The SSPC team has strong track record in
winning competitive funding.
FORMAL INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATORS
The SSPC team already has an extensive international collaboration portfolio. The SSPC
builds on and enhances the level of strategic international collaboration to deliver the
research programme. The SSPC enhances knowledge exchange and supports funding
diversification beyond the island of Ireland.
FUNDING BIDS
The nature of funding bids has become increasingly competitive and a significant part
of the submission now involves project management experience. The SSPC has a
dedicated Funding Project Manager to support researchers both in the preparation of
bids and post-award project management. This is very beneficial, particularly for large
bids involving multiple partners.
HORIZON 2020
The European Commission’s Horizon 2020 Programme is the biggest EU research
and innovation programme to date; one of the biggest publicly funded worldwide
and has a budget of nearly €80 billion over seven years. Horizon 2020 offers SSPC
researchers many opportunities to apply for funding under its three key pillars; Excellent
Science, Industrial Leadership and Societal Challenges. The SSPC has a dedicated team
responsible for supporting both national and international funding opportunities through
the coordination of proposals, facilitating partner searches and navigating the myriad of
open and forthcoming calls.
25

6
DEVELOPING
NEXT GENERATION
SCIENTISTS

The SSPC is tasked with delivering significant economic and societal
impact, as well as research excellence, aligned with national strategic
goals. The SSPC is dedicated to developing the next generation of
scientists through its education, outreach and training programme.

EDUCATION
The SSPC supports 60 PhD candidates. The SSPC structured PhD programme
incorporates both structured and traditional research elements. The structured
element is designed to be both flexible and adaptable, in order to meet the
ever-changing requirements of the sector. The key facets of the structured
element are credited assessment-based generic and transferrable skills and
core discipline-specific modules. In addition, students are also required to
develop and keep a Research and Professional Development Plan with their
doctoral supervisory team. As employability is at the core of the student
experience, industrial placement is a key feature of our approach.
TRAINING
The SSPC training programme is developed
upon the existing suite of bespoke incompany
training programmes that were
established under the auspices of the
Solid State Pharmaceutical Cluster (2007-
2013). The SSPC training programme
provides bespoke upskilling and reskilling
opportunities within the pharmaceutical
area for SSPC partners.
OUTREACH
The SSPC’s bespoke outreach strategy
is aligned with Science Foundation
Ireland’s overall outreach and public
engagement strategy for research centres.
The programme engages with, and
communicates SSPC research to, pupils,
parents, teachers and the general public.
Outreach programmes are based upon
teacher and scientist informed curriculum
materials, which develop cutting edge
activities suitable and appropriate to pupils
and curricula at different stages of the Irish
school system.
28

CONTACT US
www.sspc.ie/contact_sspc

www.sspc.ie