UEA’s School of Pharmacy celebrates two decades of success
By: Communications
On Saturday 18 May, UEA’s School of Pharmacy hosted a series of talks to mark its 20th anniversary. Over that time, the School has produced more than 1400 graduates, with many going on to work within the healthcare profession across the county and beyond.
We caught up with some of the School’s graduates to hear their stories.
Sophie White
Sophie White, who was a speaker at the event and graduated from the School in 2021, works locally in the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital. Sophie is a Specialist Pharmacist for Medicine Management, where she is responsible for the safe handling of medicines, ensures standards are met and helps conduct nursing inductions. When talking about her time at UEA, she said: “UEA stood out from other universities when I was looking around, it had such a lovely atmosphere, and everyone was genuinely friendly. It was the reason I stayed in Norwich; it made it feel like home.”
Sophie still studies at the University alongside her career, and is enrolled on the Newly Qualified Pharmacist training pathway with Independent Prescribing. She said: “UEA was the only university in the country that offered a triple award with this degree, it was really unique.”
In her time as a student, Sophie, with a friend, set up the Inter Professional Education Society and found her confidence in herself, saying: “I was scared and anxious to leave home, but I loved my degree and my societies and friends - it was promoted at UEA to give things a try.”
Aditya Aggarwal
Aditya Aggarwal, who also spoke at the event, graduated from UEA in 2016 and now works as a Senior Service Manager at Hillingdon Hospital, where he oversees the operational, financial, and performance of services. He said: “My time at UEA taught me skills in entrepreneurism, which I have used in my career.”
Aditya also volunteers for Clinical AI with the Turing Institute, working on adapting the profession through new means of innovation, which was helped by the things he learned on his degree. Aditya said: “I wanted to work with incredible people who inspired me, my degree did that. It took Doctor Desborough saying yes to me one time to spawn my post-university career.”
Aditya set up the Alternative Pharmacy Careers Conference while at UEA, which he suggested when he was a student and was given the go-ahead by the university. He said: "It was the first of its kind nationally, and it helped me gain confidence in innovation and in looking for alternative methods of medicine.”
Sam Taylor
Sam Taylor, another 2016 graduate, works as a Clinical Pharmacist in a General Practice, as well as a lecturer at UEA, said: “The course taught me skills in communication, which I use now in my career, speaking with patients and teaching the next generation of pharmacists.”
Developing future leaders
Both Sam and Aditya learned leadership on their course, which they use in the respective careers, Sam in lecturing students, and Aditya in line-managing the individuals under his care. Aditya said: “I learnt a lot about myself in leadership, what was good, what wad bad, and what worked.”
When asked about his fondest memory during his student years, Aditya said: “I tell people how supportive the team were in UEA School of Pharmacy, how they run with ideas, and genuinely want their students to achieve.”
Sam seemed to think similarly, saying: “One of my fondest memories is making a number of new friends within the course, who continue to be good friends and also the great professional support network that the course creates within pharmacy.”
To find out more about the School, visit the School of Pharmacy website.