A Pharmaceutical Quality by Design (QbD) graduate has landed a role with a leading technology provider after impressing interviewers with his suggestions to improve manufacturing processes.
Abdulrahman Nuhu feels "privileged" to be working as an optoelectronics product development engineer at API Technologies in Great Yarmouth.
He has also achieved his ambition to find a better job with good pay - one of the reasons he decided to study for his master's at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU).
The 28-year-old said: "The role involves the manufacturing of laser products in the optics department of the company, which are used to improve critical data communication systems for military and commercial aerospace, land and sea vehicles.
"I feel very privileged to have landed this job, thanks to the QbD knowledge, which the interviewers found interesting and was seen as something that could improve their manufacturing processes."
Ghana-born Abdulrahman, who moved to Milton Keynes in 2006, first studied at DMU for an undergraduate degree in Medical Science, gaining two years of industry experience in fibre optics before returning to academia.
He said: "I chose DMU because it has a high academic quality and is situated in the city centre area, which makes it easy to reach everything around you.
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"The main thing that attracted me to the course is the fact that it's based on QbD principles. This is a systematic approach to development, which begins with predefined objectives, and it emphasises product and process control and process understanding, based on sound science and quality risk management.
"It is a transferable skill to any development or manufacturing sector."
Abdulrahman's favourite feature of the course was the plentiful laboratory experience and analytical skills he gained, with a project on ibuprofen, an over-the-counter painkiller, his highlight.
"This is a BCS class II drug, which means it has low solubility and high permeability," he said. "So the barrier to the drug's absorption is dissolution.
"The aim of my project was to develop an immediate-release ibuprofen tablet based on the solubility and dissolution profile using QbD methodology and experimental design."
The 2017 graduate also enjoyed the friendly, multicultural environment at DMU.
He added: "The facilities are very good and so is the teaching. There is also a lot of support for students."
Posted on Tuesday 27 February 2018