The Beginning: Live from the Company Launch

We looked around the room at each other and I repeated the word enKap to myself. Yes enKap. I was quite certain. enKap? What? The word went round and round in my mind. What was I considering? The name seemed so foreign to me.

Many company names in our industry included institutional, serious sounding words like GMP, Compliance, Regulatory, Quality, Society, and so on…Although there is nothing wrong with these names, they all seemed so mundane, lacked signature style, were intellectually accepted, upstanding, pillars of the norm, designed by rote, blah. These company names seemed to say, “We must be smart. Just look at our name.” What about being different? Yah. What about that?

James, our web development guy, and someone who has worked in the web 2.0 world offers a different perspective on business issues than my wife Terri and myself, who have years of experience in presenting information to FDA-regulated industry. He suggested we write down a bunch of words on the board that described our company, and then craft a company name out of two of the words. I looked at Terri and thought, “Well, I guess it couldn’t hurt. We’re not getting anywhere here with the standard industry names.” So we wrote several words on the board and stared at them. After about 10 minutes of playing with different words, two that stood out were “Engaged” and “Knowledge Application.” enKap. enKap?

James said the proposed company name also had to have an available domain name. It was. We decided to sleep on it. The next day, we convened at the office and Voila! the company name enKap was born. Just like that. Rather quickly and unconventionally, it seemed.

enKap (engaged Knowledge application) provides an exclusive learning community for professionals in FDA-regulated industry. enKap was founded on the core belief of a lifecycle approach to content presentation; that is engaged Knowledge application from concept to strategic implementation. Yes indeed we have a different approach, one we believe will yield extraordinarily results for our learners. enKap also represents a great deal of personal meaning in our thinking related to how we will present information to industry professionals. Let me explain.

I was a classic C student throughout my academic career. This was due in part to my inability to focus on subjects I wasn’t interested in-which was most of them. In high school English class, when I was given a writing assignment, I viewed it as a puzzle I wanted to solve-trying to turn a phrase at the right moment, getting the words to fit-each one having to stand on its own until it succinctly and efficiently came together into a complete thought. Sometimes, I was quite amazed at the results. Other times, I was quite frustrated when it didn’t quite come together. But nevertheless, it was a compelling exercise for me. For some reason, the process captivated me. I liked it when a phrase sounded just right. I earned better grades in English than in most other subjects. I decided to major in communications and journalism

The point here is that I was actively engaged in learning. I actually enjoyed it. It seemed the time in class passed so quickly. We must consistently capture that type of learning “engagement” in our training courses

Knowledge Application

Knowledge Application is a large, important looking educational term, but what does it mean to us? Is it the end result of a learner being engaged? Maybe. Simply put, learners who attend our training courses must be able to take the information our instructors present back to their workplaces, and apply it to their particular job responsibilities. Measurable results. Period. Their foundation of knowledge must be continually strengthened over time in order for individuals to truly grow and flourish in their careers today and in the future.

Bringing Passion and Fun to the Training Place

Our training courses are designed to be creative, fun, thought provoking, engaging in order for our learners to attain their goals and realize tangible results. Learners will be challenged, brought out of their comfort zone and tested. New knowledge will come forth as a result. We realize that this approach to training is not for everyone, but we believe in the results that will surely follow..

In June, 2009 we are offering four courses in New Jersey that are designed by world-class instructors who have years of industry experience working and managing FDA compliance initiatives. The courses are designed with multiple learning-based application exercises which reinforce regulatory concepts discussed.

Introduction to Drug GMP: Meeting FDA Requirements.

This course of basic fundamentals is designed specifically for new hires, or a refresher course for industry professionals whom require a greater understanding of the drug GMPs. John Stromp, a teacher and instructional designer by trade, brings his own unique teaching style to this course.

Quality Risk Management: Practical Applications.

Eldon Henson, Director, Quality, Pharmaceutical Products, Covidien. One of the best instructors in industry, Eldon applies his experience and tried and true principles on this sometimes confusing subject.

CAPA Programs: Effective Management.

Will McQuillen, Global Manager, Change Document and Records Management, Cordis, a Johnson & Johnson Company, brings his wealth of knowledge of effectively managing CAPA systems to this training.

Supply Chain Compliance: An Insider’s View of Effective Management Practice.

John Daley, VP of QA Distribution and Supply Chain, Boston Scientific, will give you an inside look at how he manages compliance requirements related to his company’s supply chain.

The center of our learning community is our website. The enKap website is created to be a social media content destination for you. When you have a moment, please take a look at the free content, draft documents to comment on, and the numerous opportunities available to get involved, give back, and demonstrate your expertise

As we launch enKap, we have taken the first step in creating an evolving, vibrant, growing learning community. There is much work to be done. Together. We look forward in sharing this journey. Together.

Glenn Melvin

President (and driving force)

Next Week: FDA Global Inspection Trends