Pharmaceutical sciences education boosted by data science
Today’s transformation towards data-driven solutions is highly dependent on talents with the necessary skills. This is why CPDSE is dedicated to developing research-based education for the future workforce of drug experts, spanning bachelor, master, PhD and life-long learning levels. Pharmaceutical sciences students from the University of Copenhagen (UCPH) and the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) will become bilinguals speaking both “data and drugs”. The Center for Pharmaceutical Data Science Education is a close collaboration between UCPH and SDU. The goal of the center is to advance Danish education within pharmaceutical sciences through integration of data science.
Vision
Pharmaceutical Data Science becomes a catalyst for life science and healthcare strongholds.
Mission
To educate the future workforce of pharmaceutical data science professionals and researchers.
To achieve the mission, the center will develop research-based education for the future workforce of ‘data and drugs’ bilinguals – spanning bachelor, master, PhD and life-long learning levels.
The center’s overall goals:
- Build a coherent center community around the new frontier field of pharmaceutical data science.
- Upgrade existing courses, design new courses, develop course material and train teachers.
- Contribute to teaching at bachelor, master, PhD and life-long learning levels.
- Establish national and international collaboration and networks and attract talented students and researchers.
People, Data, and Drugs: A connected framework for Pharmaceutical Data Science Education
CPDSE’s logo is built from a single, snake-like curve that weaves into three interlocking loops, forming three distinct circles. These circles represent the domains CPDSE connects: People, Data, and Drugs.
People: Community, collaboration, and lifelong learning
People reflects students, researchers, educators, and partners – and our emphasis on life-long learning environments where disciplinary perspectives meet in practice. It speaks to the communities CPDSE convenes across academia and industry, and to the skills, mentoring, and shared language needed to collaborate effectively on pharmaceutical challenges.
Data: Reproducible methods and responsible practice
Data points to the methods and reproducible practices that turn complex health and biomedical data into trustworthy knowledge: careful study design, transparent analysis workflows, documentation, and responsible sharing. It also reflects CPDSE’s focus on data literacy as a core competence for modern drug design and pharmacology, where quality, governance, and ethics are integral – not add-ons.
Drugs: Translating analysis into drug discovery decisions
Drugs represents translation-linking analysis and modeling to concrete decisions in drug discovery and development: target identification, evidence synthesis, biomarker and patient stratification work, and evaluation of candidate compounds. It captures CPDSE’s mission to strengthen pharmaceutical data science education and its vision of enabling students and researchers to move from data to actionable insight with scientific rigor and responsibility.
The snake motif draws on long-standing medical and pharmacy symbolism, signaling guidance, stewardship, and responsibility when working with health data and decisions that affect patients.
Together, the design captures how CPDSE convenes communities, builds data-literate workflows, and helps students and researchers move from data to actionable insight in drug discovery and development.
The funds behind CPDSE: Foundation support for Pharmaceutical Data Science Education
The Center for Pharmaceutical Data Science Education (CPDSE) is supported by generous funding from the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the LEO Foundation, and the Lundbeck Foundation.
This support enables CPDSE to develop and deliver high-quality education and training in pharmaceutical data science, strengthening skills in data-driven methods across the life sciences. Through close collaboration with academic partners and engagement with industry, CPDSE helps connect students and researchers with relevant tools, datasets, and best practices for working with complex biomedical and pharmaceutical data. The funding also supports shared activities – such as courses, workshops, and community initiatives – that promote reproducibility, responsible data use, and interdisciplinary exchange.
Together, these efforts contribute to building capacity for data science in drug discovery and development, and to creating a strong educational foundation for current and future professionals.