Recently, our MSc Biotech and Pharmaceutical Management students had the opportunity to visit the GSK Headquarters, where they attended an event hosted by the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE UK Affiliate).
The sessions explored health policy, global pharmaceutical supply chains and sustainability, offering students a practical lens on how organisations like GSK navigate current and future challenges. Crucially, discussions highlighted how meaningful progress in healthcare depends not only on operational excellence, but on integrated thinking across policy, access, engineering and long-term impact.
Students also had the opportunity to network with several leaders from GSK over lunch, Helen McDowell, Thomas Jenkins, Louise Littlefair, Aditya Srivastava and Zam Shabeer Thahir.
Helen McDowell, Head of Global Policy & Advocacy, spoke about GSK’s responsible business approach, its work to tackle antimicrobial resistance, and its support for the supply of medicines to low- and middle-income countries for tuberculosis, malaria, and other neglected tropical diseases.
Thomas Jenkins, Senior Manager, Access to Medicines Strategy, shared GSK and ViiV Healthcare’s efforts and ambition to tackle HIV and AIDS.
Louise Littlefair, Global Supply Chain Strategy Lead, discussed the scale and complexity of the supply chain, from the manufacture of starting materials, engineering of facilities and processes, through to delivery to patients.
Aditya Srivastava, Sustainability Innovation and Data Lead, highlighted GSK’s work in sustainability, emphasising how “sustainability by design” can have the greatest impact in addressing environmental challenges.
Zam Shabeer Thahir, Engineering Operations and Strategy Director, introduced GSK, his role in Global Engineering and encouraged the students to leverage ISPE’s learning and networking opportunities to launch their professional journeys.
UCL Global Business School for Health remains committed to fostering learning beyond the classroom, giving students the opportunity to apply academic concepts to real-world contexts and develop the strategic, systems-level thinking required in the global health and life sciences sectors.
“This visit reinforced my interest in pursuing a career in strategy or supply chain, where I can contribute to decisions that balance patient outcomes, operational complexity and long-term sustainability goals."
Director of Education, Associate Professor and Programme Lead for MSc Biotech and Pharmaceutical Management
UCL Global Business School for HealthRadi is also an Associate Professor and UCL GBSH and a well-recognised educationalist in the field of health and business education, with strong expertise in applied research, and his expertise is sought nationally and internationally. In 2009, he became a part-time lecturer at a UK Business School, before being appointed Lecturer and subsequently Senior Lecturer in Strategy and Business Ethics in September 2013 and 2015, respectively.