July 29 2025|Port Moresby

With the recent Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between City Pharmacy Limited Group (CLP Group) and IBSUniversity (IBSU), aimed at enhancing industry-academia collaboration.  A group of thirty (30) year 3 and year 4 Business Management students from Southern Cross University (SCU) and IBSU participated in an industrial visit to CPL Group headquarter in Port Moresby.

Welcoming the students at CLP headquarter was Ms. Catherine Tawali, General Manager – People & Culture, she officially opened the industrial visit with an introductory remark in which she shared an overview of CPL’s corporate structure, values, and the agenda for the day.

The first part of the visit began with a series of interactive sessions delivered by General Managers from CPL’s key departments. Each 20-minute session offered understanding into the functions, responsibilities, and challenges of their respective divisions. The departments featured: Supply Chain Management, Merchandising, Sales, Information Technology, Pharmacy, People & Culture, Finance and Marketing.

The departmental leaders explained the importance of their roles in driving the company’s success and gave students valuable guidance on skills and competencies expected in the corporate environment.

The students were privileged to meet Mr. Pradeep Panda, Head of Pharmacy, who facilitated a guided tour of one of CPL’s retail pharmacy outlets. The students were taken through to observe the in-store layout, product categorization, customer service operations, and merchandising strategies—giving them firsthand exposure to retail management and operational practices.

The second part of the visit began with an engaging presentation by Mr. Christopher Lam, General Manager – Marketing, who discussed CPL’s branding efforts, customer engagement practices, and loyalty program strategies. As a thoughtful gesture, all students received Real Rewards loyalty cards to better understand CPL’s customer retention approach in practice.

To topped it off, Mr. Kee Lim, Executive Board Director at CPL Group delivered an interesting session about career development, essential skill sets in today’s business environment, and the importance of adaptability and effective communication. He encouraged students to pursue continuous learning and to have resilience.

On behalf of the students Stawney Magautu, a Year 3 student, acknowledged CPL Group about giving them to opportunity to explore the practical corporate setting and how the visit expanded their understanding of corporate operations and helped them connect theory with practice. He said, “we not only gained industry insights but also a deeper motivation to pursue our professional goals.’

IBSUniversity continues to work together with industries to prepare students for their professional endeavors.

The visit was organized by Ms. Palakurthi Harika, Lecturer at the School of Business and Management. The visit was made possible through the initiative and dedicated efforts of Dr. Durga Prasad; Head of School of Business & Management whose leadership played a key role in establishing and nurturing the MoU with CPL Group.