The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Monday that it planned to open two graduate schools dedicated to the pharmaceuticals industry in September.

The government has started looking for universities interested in hosting the schools, one in Seoul or its outskirts and another elsewhere in the country.

The ministry plans to open the schools in September in time for the start of the second semester of the year. The Korea Health Industry Development Institute will hold a briefing for the interested universities at the Seoul Foundation of Women and Family building in Seoul on Friday.

The names of the two universities selected to host the pharmaceutical graduate schools will be announced on March 15.

According to the ministry, the main objective of the graduate schools will be providing all-around knowledge of the medical, management and legal fields related to the pharmaceutical industry. Major courses will include topics such as state authorization processes for drugs, economic and business feasibility assessments, as well as management of technology related to making and distributing pharmaceuticals.

The authorities also seek to link pharmaceutical manufacturers to the graduate schools to collaborate on curriculum development and employment.

Companies will suggest required subjects to be reflected in the curriculum, and offer internships or on-the-job training opportunities to students. A possible consortium of companies and schools is expected to boost the development of new drugs and promote employment in the sector, officials said.

The establishment of pharmaceutical graduate schools is part of a government measure to develop the domestic pharmaceutical industry to be implemented from March 30. Government officials regard it as essential to foster local pharmaceutical experts in order to develop new drugs and penetrate foreign markets.

“For example, Sungkyunkwan University and Samsung Electronics have jointly founded the ‘mobile phone department’ at the school, where students learn from alpha to omega about the mobile phone industry and get a job at the company after graduation. This will bring a win-win effect to both sides,” a ministry official said.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)