Starwin Products Limited (SPL) has given a two-month hands on internship opportunity in pharmacy for 17 students drawn from both the public and private universities across the country. The aim of the internship was to provide the students with practical training related in their respective fields of study and bridge the gap between industry and academia. Speaking at a get-together organised for the 17 students who had completed the two-month internship, Managing Director of SPL, Mr Kwasi Yirenkyi, called for greater collaboration between industry and higher institutions of learning. “Practical training for students is very important. When universities partner industry, it is then that students will be able to see how things they learn theoretically are done on the field", said Mr Yirenkyi. The General Manager of SPL, Mr. William Sakyiamah, said the company will continue to engage students as its way of supporting the efforts of universities to build the manpower base of the country. “This is the third year running that we have offered internship opportunity to students, and we will continue to do this in the coming years,” he added. “Starwin has a Research and Development (R&D) department, which has helped me realise that it’s an area I can branch into after school. Hitherto, I didn’t know what to do with my pharmacy degree after school,” Jonathan Laryea, a pharmacy student from Central University said. Marian Davids, a third-year pharmacy student of KNUST, expressed her profound appreciation for the opportunity to intern with the drug producer. “I saw the things that we were taught in school at work here, and was able to broaden my knowledge in chemistry.” The students were drawn from the University of Ghana, Central University College, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), and the University of Cape Coast.