Time Capsule Placed in Cornerstone of RSU Pharmaceutical Education and Research Centre

The future Pharmaceutical Education and Research Centre of Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) entered the next construction phase as a time capsule was placed into the cornerstone of the building on 19 May. The multi-storey building has a total area of 7151 m2 and is located at 21 Konsula iela. It will house modern study facilities and a world-class science centre, including a research laboratory for finished dosage forms. The project is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). It is planned that construction will be completed in 2022.

The centre will contain the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, the Department of Pharmacology and the Department of Applied Pharmacy, study facilities and laboratories for students, as well as a research laboratory for finished dosage forms, which is very important for the development of science. The message in the capsule also emphasised the importance of science, which was laid into the foundations of the building by Professor Aigars Pētersons, the Rector of RSU, Uģis Grīnbergs, UPB Board Member and Paula Feldmane, the Head of the RSU Student Union.

‘The university’s strategic goal is to develop as a research university. The new building will provide prospective pharmacists with extensive opportunities for research and work. Building a modern world-class science centre, where the knowledge and new pharmaceutical technologies will be concentrated in order to help develop innovative solutions and create new dosage forms is also our response to the challenge posed by the coronavirus,’ says Prof. Pētersons.

He adds that small countries can also make major contributions to global science. ‘The global pandemic has highlighted the importance of pharmaceutical research.’

The building will complement the RSU campus and will be one of the largest and most technically complex buildings in the university's 70-year history. The price for the construction is EUR 8,468,500 (excluding VAT), of which almost half is co-financed by the ERDF. The site is being constructed by UPB LLC.

‘Knowledge is an asset that paves the way for long-term development and competitiveness at a national, corporate and individual level,’ emphasised Grīnbergs. ‘It is with the utmost responsibility that we are implementing the construction of the new RSU centre for education and research, as it will allow for world-class knowledge to be concentrated right here in Latvia.’

Visualisation video of the new building

The facility is being developed as part of the co-financed action Pharmacy research infrastructure development at Rīga Stradiņš University (contract No 1.1.1.4/17/I/011), which is part of the specific support objective (SSO) Measure 1.1.1.4 Development of R&D Infrastructure in Smart Specialisation Areas and Strengthening of Institutional Capacity of Scientific Institutions and the co-financed project Improvement of the study environment at Rīga Stradiņš University (contract No 8.1.1.0/17/I/006) of the SSO 8.1.1