Boehringer Ingelheim forms partnership with university

The University of Connecticut has announced that Boerhinger Ingelheim has pledged $180,000 (91,600 pounds) over a three-year period for the development of a pilot master’s degree programme at the university.

Boeheringer Ingelheim will give its support to six research assistants for the degree in synthetic organic chemistry, in a move that follows its $1.25 million donation for the establishment of a chair in mechanistic toxicology in 2006 and a $250,000 gift two years earlier to support the Dosage Forms Laboratory in the university’s School of Pharmacy.

The company will also work with the university to develop and teach a new pharmaceutical research course while hosting six-month internships to give students the opportunity to gain training for future employment in the industry.

Chris Senanayake, vice-president of chemical development at Boheringer Ingelheim, said; “The ultimate goal of this pilot programme is to demonstrate the benefit of having an industry/academic collaboration and eventually train more highly skilled scientists.”

He added that he believed the university to be sufficiently capable of piloting this scheme.

The University of Connecticut was founded in 1881 and encompasses ten schools and colleges based at its main Storrs campus.