8

Higher education

Higher education in modern societies should provide learners with the skills to work in a competitive and global market and must empower them in a pluralistic way to enhance the exchange of knowledge. Furthermore, they must be given access to an education that can be applied daily based on good conduct and ethics, and that also contributes to improving their scientific expertise and professional and technical competence[10].

According to a paper written in partnership between the World Bank and the United Nations (UN), universities or more broadly, HEIs should be the link between expertise and competence, as countries need to educate young people to higher standards so they can increase national competitiveness [11].There has been a drive for graduates to be lifelong learners from policy- makers in national agencies, and HEIs globally[13, 14]. Regardless of the diversity of cultural contexts, it is generally agreed that organisations and HEIs have a responsibility to instil within undergraduates the value and skills of LLL in order to prepare them for on-going professional development [13, 14]. The responsibility for LLL belongs not only to educational systems and society but also to individuals. The individual is placed at the centre of the LLL framework, and the awareness relies to a large extent on the capacity and motivation of individuals to take care of their own learning [15]. LLL can be considered as being a triadic concept , consisting of economic progress and development , personal development and fulfilment , and social inclusiveness, democratic understanding and activity [16].

A recurring problem in developing countries is the need to fund higher education - central governments cannot allocate adequate resources from their small education budgets and public universities are almost entirely dependent on this budget. Compared to developed countries, the developing world is spending less per student on education [17]. This report also reveals a similar correlation between the tuition fee per student and the country s economic condition (see Part 3 of this report).

Alongside challenges in funding there are also infrastructure limitations. For example, libraries and laboratory equipment within universities are often neglected, being left unfinished for several years or without appropriate maintenance.

In health care professions, higher education now has to incorporate a multitude of learning to achieve competencies in the health systems that employ graduates. Thus, system- based and competency-driven educational reform is recommended, adjusting core professional competencies in particular contexts, while drawing on global knowledge and perspectives [4, 18].

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Curricula trends In global pharmacy and pharmaceutical education, the call for curricular reform has been raised. However, the requests for educational reform vary within different settings world- wide. In developed countries, academic staff pursue curricula to prepare students for future specialised fields in pharmacy. On the other hand, in developing countries, patient-centred curricula and public health pharmacy are focused on tackling ever-changing health environments [6]. In addition, in specific settings where pharmacy and pharmaceutical higher education has not been previously established, there may be a unique need for specific educational models [19]. Furthermore, the status of pharmacists varies all over the world and is influenced by the number of pharmacists, or lack of awareness of pharmacists as health care team members; the perceived status of pharmacists could be well below that of their medical colleagues [20].

As the wide range of global needs and demands for pharmacy services increases, curricula need to better reflect the variety of pharmacy career directions that future graduates will face, and the varied and challenging global health needs [21]. It is highly recommended that in addition to formal curricula, pharmacy students take part in extra-curricular activities such as conferences, symposia, competitions, publications and internships to develop specific areas of expertise [22].

To prepare the students for the wide range of areas of activity in pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences, several approaches have been introduced, such as work-place education in collaboration with practitioners, inter-professional education for developing the skills to work as a health care team member, and student-centred learning to achieve the problem-solving skills and application of knowledge to real life problems.

By encouraging students to be directly involved in the learning process in a responsible and dynamic way, schools of pharmacy have afforded them the responsibility to lead the pharmacy profession to a better future in all fields. Also, student involvement with pharmacy s professional bodies will help them understand the values, vision and purpose of the profession. This concept is reflected in Guideline 17.3 of The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education in the USA [23], which recommends that leadership skills be assessed at the time of admission. As not all incoming pharmacy students possess these abilities, attitudes and behaviours, they must be developed during their educational experience and beyond graduation [24].