Lene Sønderbye Kjærulff
Project Manager, H. Lundbeck A/S.
Master of Industrial Drug Development, University of Copenhagen, 2020.
Cand.Scient., Biochemistry, University of Copenhagen, 1996.
Career changes led to new academic needs
For many years, Lene Sønderbye Kjærulff worked in research, but over the past years, she has changed her career path towards information management and project coordination in the life science industry. Working as a project coordinator on projects focusing on pharmaceutical development, she realized that she needed a broader basis and more general drug development competencies than what she had obtained from her educational background in biochemistry.
Lene Sønderbye Kjærulff’s manager supported her interest in educating herself further in other aspects than research. It felt natural for Lene Sønderbye Kjærulff to choose Master of Industrial Drug Development, as she had already heard about the master’s programme and it fitted well with her academic and work-related needs. The structure of the master’s programme was well suited for her:
“I liked that it was flexible with closed courses, where you finalized one part before starting on the next. It fits very well with my temperament.”
Master of Industrial Drug Development as a pharmacist ‘light’ education
Lene Sønderbye Kjærulff finds the master’s programme very useful for her work at Lundbeck:
“It was most definitely relevant. I gained a better and broader knowledge relevant for working in the life science industry, especially in connection to the chain of drug development. I think of it as a pharmacist ‘light’ education, as you go through a range of topics, which I believe are covered in the pharmacist education. For example CMC, regulatory affairs, and quality assurance.”
Lene Sønderbye Kjærulff finds the education recommendable for people who work in the life science industry, but who lack the broad knowledge in the pharmaceutical field. She highlights the different possibilities:
“If you do not need the whole package, you could just enrol in one of the great courses, for example the regulatory courses. I very much like that you have the ability to hand pick according to your needs.”
Networking and sparring opportunities
Even though the course participants differ from course to course, Lene Sønderbye Kjærulff finds it giving for the education that you meet many people from the life science industry at the courses:
“When participating in for example the regulatory course, you can hear about how they work in other life science companies like Novo Nordisk and Leo Pharma. You can bring your own challenges to the table, be sparring partners, and learn how other companies would approach the same issues.”
Newly gained competencies led to new career opportunities
When asked if Lene Sønderbye Kjærulff found her new competencies applicable to her work in Lundbeck, she is not hesitant to mention the changes in her career life.
“I was offered the position as project manager at Lundbeck while I wrote the master’s thesis. Before then, I was a project coordinator, and I believe the education has played a part in my increased involvement and responsibility in the specific projects. Bottom line, I believe the education and the competencies gained from the Master of Industrial Drug Development, contributed to my promotion as project manager in Lundbeck. It certainly did not hurt.”
In Lene Sønderbye Kjærulff’s new position as project manager, the knowledge gained from the education helps her in different ways:
“I feel better prepared to talk to people from different areas of drug development. As part of the project management, we have a project team represented by many different areas for example CMC and toxicology. The education has helped me to ask better questions and improve my understanding of the different representatives and their contributions, needs, and challenges in drug development projects. Basically, I have gained a broader understanding of the value chain that helps us to lead a project forward and what is of importance in different areas of drug development.”
Interview from May 2021.