First C-CAP Batch in Pune Felicitated

We recently organized the convocation ceremony for our very first C-CAP batch from Pune. The students were looking forward to this event for a long time – so much that some of them travelled from Mumbai and Noida just to resurrect some of the great moments of their student lives.  The event was also attended by our existing students who were thrilled with the opportunity to hear the experiences of their seniors as they stepped into the corporate world.

The guest of honor for the ceremony was Mr. Ajay Sathe (CEO, Cytel India) who happily agreed to grace the occasion and share his valuable thoughts for a successful career with the young graduates.

The young graduates have undergone a rigorous training program in  SAS^® 9.4 followed by hands on  experience and on-the-job training at Cytel Statistical Software & Services Pvt Ltd. The C-CAP program has groomed them on various facets of a successful career in Clinical Programming – Domain Knowledge, Statistics Awareness, Therapeutic Areas, Industry Standards, Practical Assignments and Soft skills. The comprehensive structure of the program has ensured that students from diverse educational background are able to emerge as versatile professionals. As shared by Kaveri, our mentor, the diversity in the batch has actually fostered peer-learning and taken the experience to next level.

 In our earlier blog, we had announced that our C-CAP batches were ready to be hired by the market. Thanks to the capability shown by our students, we have been able to clock 100% placement record for the first two batches – one from Pune and the other from our Hyderabad facility.  The students from Pune batch have been placed with reputed CROs such as TCS, Accenture and Inventive. This has once again established the viability of our systematic approach towards talent development.

Previously there was a myth that one must be statistics background to have a successful career in this industry; but with the grand success of our students it has been proved that the statistical knowledge provided in C-CAP is helpful in cracking the rigorous recruitment processes of MNCs irrespective of the student’s background. 

Watch some of our participants share their experiences with C-CAP.

         

The graduates were quite enthusiastic to share their experiences from their stint with the corporate world. Here are some of the useful insights from the interaction: 

1.     An appreciation of statistics helps a lot in cracking the rigorous recruitment process followed by MNCs for clinical programmers

2.     A sound knowledge of the domain is inevitable to navigate confidently through your job responsibilities in Clinical Trial Services Industry

3.     The exhaustive sessions on the safety domains – a unique offering as part of C-CAP, gives you an edge over your peers – both during recruitment process as well as on the job

The graduates were quite satisfied with the training provided on various classes under Safety domains - such as general observational class, special purpose class etc. One of our students shared that in his new project he is working on the assignments pretty similar to what he had worked on as part of practical training in C-CAP. Naturally this gave him an added advantage in terms of understanding of data and analysis of the same. As part of the operations team, it was very gratifying for us all to hear the kind words from the batch. The batch remains special in our heart, since they put their faith in us and gave 100% commitment as we walked along the journey.

Congratulations to all our gems that are ready to adorn the teams of these reputed organizations! We have no doubt that you will keep up the learning spirit and build an exemplary professional reputation. All the best!!

About the author – Nikhita Pemgirikar-Pasalkar, a post graduate in healthcare management , is working with CliPLab as a program coordinator in Clinical SAS Programming. She has been a key contributor in design and execution of C-CAP program.

C-CAP...The vital step towards a brighter future !

Youngsters aspiring to enter any career stream of their choice often complain that every recruiter demands certain amount of experience. They find themselves confused about where to get the work experience from, in a highly regulated industry such as Clinical Research.

With highly critical and responsible tasks to do, the industry faces lot of regulations. Timelines drive this industry. Considering the nature of work it is obvious why we cannot deploy freshers for such real time critical projects. Consequently, given the time it takes for anyone to develop a sizable work experience, there is no doubt that the industry is struggling with the wide demand supply gap and Cytel is no exception. This perpetual problem has forced us at CliPLab to go beyond tactical measures such as lateral hiring and think of something strategic and sustainable.

 There are many graduates aspiring to enter the Clinical SAS  programming industry today. However, they are unable to do so very easily due to lack of domain knowledge, exposure to basic Statistics, awareness of CDISC standards or sometimes the professional skills. Having been part of the team that has designed and executed the program, I can say that, C-CAP candidates are equipped with most of these vital skills and competencies and are ready to hit the ground running.

Training the C-CAP participants has been an enriching experience. I have found C-CAP participants more mature, more receptive to the training, keen observers, eager to dive deeper into the topics and determined enough to stay focused on challenging tasks. Every batch is a close-knit group and has developed a better ability to work in teams. Since the participants often come from different academic streams, I have seen a healthy exchange of knowledge and ideas and this has resulted into a better peer-learning quotient for the entire group. The unusual queries and problems posed by the participants have been inspiring and gratifying for me as a trainer.


About the Author - Dr Kaveri Gavade, previously a medical practitioner, is working with CliPLab as a trainer in Clinical SAS Programming. She has been a key contributor in design and execution of C-CAP program.

C-CAP Lite Unveiled – Merge with the highway to a great career

At CliPLab, our mission is to help youngsters build a meaningful career in Clinical Trial Services Industry. The belief in our mission has enabled us to come up with C-CAP – a proven career development program that captures all aspects of a coveted profile in the industry. While campaigning for C-CAP, we realized that there are candidates trained in SAS programming from other institutes and still unable to make a foray in the industry. We brainstormed over this and came up with an entry path for such candidates to benefit from the C-CAP program. Now, candidates already trained in SAS elsewhere, are able to join C-CAP through an option called C-CAP Lite.

The C-CAP program spans 18 months, out of which first three months are reserved for training in SAS programming. Thus candidates trained in SAS can join C-CAP batch at the end of three months for a particular batch and still get the holistic experience. How do we ensure that the candidates joining through C-CAP Lite option are at par with regular C-CAP candidates in terms of proficiency in SAS? We evaluate the incoming candidates with an in-house technical test that only the candidates with sound programming skills can clear. This helps us maintain the quality at intake and help a larger audience at the same time.

The candidates trained in SAS often go for an internship program run by various institutes or CROs in order to gain practical experience and thus ease their entry into the industry. While these options are useful to some candidates, they have their own limitations, when it comes to predictability. C-CAP Lite is designed with an intention to improve the predictability in your career path and thus create a more tangible, sustainable value in the long run. In a short video, we have examined the situation of a typical candidate, trained in SAS and seeking options to debut in the industry. Watch this video to know how C-CAP Lite can help you reduce the uncertainty in your career journey.

To know more about C-CAP Lite, visit us here.