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Pharmacy student from Cyprus: I’ve always dreamt of working in a pharmacy and helping people

Twenty-five-year-old Georgios Paranis from Cyprus is one of several foreign students studying pharmacy at MU. He moved to Brno four years ago.

He has been attracted to pharmacy since he was a boy, inspired by his parents who have owned two pharmacies in Cyprus for 30 years.

As a foreign student he views the Faculty of Pharmacy’s move to Masaryk University very positively, especially because it allows for close cooperation with the Faculty of Medicine. “I think it will greatly improve course quality, which is already at a high level anyway. I’ve been enjoying school since the day I started. It’s amazing to see the complicated process behind producing medicines,” says Georgios.

He has been attracted to pharmacy since he was a boy, inspired by his parents who have owned two pharmacies in Cyprus for 30 years. He would often help them out at work. His favourite part about being a pharmacist is that he can help others get healthy and feel better, but he also enjoys working and communicating with people.

He began thinking about doing a master’s programme abroad when he was is secondary school. “I wanted to try living in a different country for a few years and get to know students from around the world. I picked Czechia at random based on a presentation at an exhibition of study abroad opportunities for secondary school students; this small country in the heart of Europe immediately caught my attention when I heard that beer costs less than water there,” he recalls.

Pharmacy has opened doors for him

Today, he is glad he decided the way he did. He immediately fell in love with Brno and the faculty, and he was so enthusiastic about his studies and working in the labs that he even toyed with the idea of continuing with doctoral studies or finding a job with an international pharmaceuticals company. In the end, however, he plans on returning to Cyprus even though he cannot rule out changing his mind. It wasn’t until he got to MU that he realized all the doors that a diploma from the Faculty of Pharmacy can open.

He is currently in his final year of studies and will spend just two more weeks in Brno until he finishes an internship. “I work in a pharmacy in the centre, where they also have labs. I spend most of my time there, preparing various medicines––everything from ointments to pills and solutions. It’s been a great experience, and I have enjoyed it a lot. And I have great colleagues who help me with everything and have taught me many new things,” he says.

After completing his internship, Georgios will return home to Cyprus, where he will spend six months doing another internship in a pharmacy and will complete his master’s thesis on PLGA microparticles with two incorporated drugs of different solubilities. He has already collected the necessary data in faculty labs and now must write his thesis before defending it in May.

“I won’t actually be in Brno for my final year of study, which is regrettable. I already miss Brno, the people, my friends from different countries, and the fact that everything is just a short trip away from Czechia. I’ve spent a wonderful four years here. Sure, sometimes classes were hard, but I learned a lot thanks to my excellent teachers. I definitely plan on coming back to Brno in the future. It’s my second home. I am already looking forward to seeing what the faculty at MU will look like in a few years. There are big plans.”