Newsletter 60 - IPSF Gretings

John Nguyen IPSF President

Dear IPSFers! I hope you are all doing fine in all parts of the world! My name is John Nguyen, from Melbourne Australia. I am a recently graduated pharmacist, and it is an honour and privilege to be elected and serve the Federation as IPSF President after such great experiences, friends and memories I’ve made over 4 years of IPSF involvement, 7 IPSF congresses and over 15 IPSF-related meetings and conferences! I have never stepped on a plane without representing NAPSA or IPSF, and I hope to spread my passion for getting involved to as many students as possible, who will become future leaders in our profession! It will definitely be hard work, late nights and tens of thousands of emails... but I look forward to the challenge and hope to bring improvements to a wide spectrum of IPSF projects and strengthen the Federation during this tenure. As a servant volunteer, I look forward to working with a fantastic executive team and enjoy together the fruits th of everyone’s hard work when we come to celebrate IPSF’s 60 birthday next year! Look out, I promise it’s going to be a big year!

A big hello to all IPSF friends! My name is Mary Poon from Melbourne Australia and I am currently th completing my pre-registration year. My first IPSF Congress was the 4 Asia Pacific Pharmaceutical Symposium 2005 Tokyo, and I have grown to love IPSF more and more over the last four years!

There have been many inspirations and friendships made over the 6 IPSF congresses I have the opportunity to have attended. This is the second year of my term as Secretary-General, and I am looking forward to working with not only the Executives, but also with the Coordinators, subcommittees and members of IPSF. The IPSF family extends far and wide; don’t miss out on the IPSF spirit!

Mary Poon

Vive la pharmacie!

Ling-Yi Tsai Chairperson of Professional Development

Secretary-General Hi IPSFers ,..I am Ling from Taiwan. My first IPSF event back to 2005 APPS, Japan with a lot of good friend and sweet memories, became an addict to IPSF since then. Last year, I took the challenge as being IPSF Training Coordinator. Along with John, our dear newly elected president, we started LIT training programme from limited resources. LIT led to great success thus I would like to carry on the sprit of training and help more people reach competency and excellence in their future involvement of pharmacy career during my term of Professional Development. Being IPSF executive is my dream, being the first executive-elected from Taiwan is my honour. I hope to keep the fire burning and looking forward to make a new leaf of IPSF history.

Marhaba IPSFers!! (It is Arabic Hello), this is Mohamed Magoury from Egypt. I'm a pharmacy student in my last year at Zagazig University. Actually, my first involvement in IPSF was during IPSF Leaders in Training (LIT) in Cluj, Romania. Then I got inspiration from the IPSF congress, so I decided to take the challenge to be the IPSF Chairperson of Publications. Since designing and web development is the thing that I most love, you have my word that you will see a lot of surprises this year through the IPSF Website and other publications more than you expected. With my amazing new team I can guarantee very strong and amazing IPSF promotional materials. What makes my challenge easier is that I'm working in what I love, in the place I love, and with those great people I so love…

Mohamed Magoury

So wait for me!

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Chairperson of Publications

IPSF Secretariat PO Box 84200, 2508 AE Den Haag, The Netherlands Interested in sending an article to IPSF Newsletter? Please send your article and photos to publications@ipsf.org If you have any queries, do not hesitate to contact us at publications@ipsf.org or ipsf@ipsf.org

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Núria Mur Blanch Chairperson of Student Exchange

Issue #60 Dear IPSFers, My name is Núria and I’m from Barcelona, Spain. I graduated in pharmacy in September 2006 and I’m currently in my third PhD year at the school of pharmacy at the University of Barcelona. My first contact with IPSF was when I participated in SEP back in 2004, in Portugal. That was love at first sight! Back home, I joined the local pharmacy students’ association, AEF-UB Spain. Serving the federation has been my dream since my first IPSF Congress, Bonn 2005. Being conscious that SEP is one of the most popular of IPSF activities, it’s such an honour for me to serve you as the Chairperson of Student Exchange this year.

Fortunately, I am not alone in this commitment: I have a wonderful Student Exchange Committee team and, of course, my big families of SEOs and LEOs all over the world that will help me achieve my goals. No way would SEP be possible without YOU ALL! With love,

Dear IPSFers...My name is Mohamed Sultan, from Alexandria, Egypt… I'm now in my final year in study in faculty of pharmacy, Alexandria University, and expected to take my BSC in pharmaceutical sciences' by July 2009. My first IPSF involvement was when I did an exchange in Hungary Budapest, summer 2007, then I have been elected as SEO for my local association ASPSA, and I got more and more involved to be the IPSF EMRO Regional coordinator 2007-08, being involved in IPSF work is such a great experience and being part of IPSF Executives was a big challenge for me, but since public relations work and working with people is my first passion…I decided to take this challenge to be the Chairperson of Public Relations....and I have the honour to be part of such a great Exec team this year who I'm sure will do a great job serving the federation and strengthen it. Thanks to everyone who have supported me in this; my family, my faculty dean and vice dean my great CPs and MPC-Team as well.

Yash Jalundhwala Chairperson of Public Health

Mohamed Sultan Chairperson of Public Relations

Dear Friends, Namaste (Indian way of greeting) and a big hi to one and all. I am Yash Jalundhwala and I am honoured to serve you and the federation as the Chairperson of Public Health for the upcoming year. I represent IPA – SF, India and am currently completing a Masters of Science (MS) program in Pharmacy Administration in Chicago, USA. I caught the famed IPSF Virus through the th TB Fact Card Project in 2005. At the 5 Asia Pacific Pharmaceutical Symposium 2006 in Bandung, my first IPSF Congress, I met many new friends equally infected like me. Since then it has been a great time full of friends, learning, touring and amazing memories. This year I am privileged to lead a wonderful public health team of coordinators and sub - committee members who are all very hard working, experienced and enthusiastic about making a positive difference. I look forward to work with you all. Through various campaigns and advocacy, let’s together make public health a little healthier.

Indeed Vive la pharmacie!

Hi All … My name is Nomvula Mabuza. I am a final year pharmacy student from Rhodes University in South Africa. My first experience with IPSF was in 2006 when I attended the South African Pharmacy Student (SAPSF) Conference. I have been representing IPSF in African based meeting since 2007. In 2008 I attended my first IPSF conference in Cluj and I was very happy to meet and make so many new friends. This is my final year as undergraduate student and my plan for the coming year is to take a break off studying and work for a local Pharmacy group called Clicks Pharmacy. I would like to learn more about medicine procurement and supply in South Africa and abroad with the aim of contributing towards the national policy to improve access to essential medicines especially in the public health care sector. My goal for my term of office is to raise student’s awareness of the global initiatives that they can get involved in and promote more student based research especially in Public Health. I am looking forward to working with you all!!!

Nomvula Mabuza Chairperson of Pharmacy Education

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Issue #60

Some things just pass too quickly, especially if you are having fun and enjoying them. For me and a couple of my friends, 2008 IPSF Congress was one of those things.

It is hard to look back even in November and talk about the congress without a sudden appearance of sadness.

Organizing such an event is a challenge for everybody.

Before and during the congress we realized that, in reality, nobody knows their limits. For those students th unfamiliar with Congress, the 54 annual IPSF Congress st was held in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, between the 1 and th Congress Photo 11 of August. Around 170 students from more than 30 countries travelled into the heart of Transylvania, and judging by the emails and messages that the Reception Committee received afterwards, they had a blast.

Congress had all the usual activities, General Assembly, public health workshops, SEO & CP workshops, Educational & Scientific Days, a Patient Counselling Event, all these spiced with a well planned social programme. Regarding the Symposia Days, the Educational theme was “New challenges for the pharmacy profession,” and during the Scientific day students were introduced to “The quality of pharmaceutical Idealism vs. Reality”. Congress also had a Poster exhibition about “Counterfeit drugs”. We were glad to have representatives among us from the World Health Organization (WHO), the National Agency of Medicines from Romania, the School of Pharmacy – London, the Department of Pharmacy & Pharmacology - University of Bath, and the Faculty of Pharmacy - University of Helsinki.

For some students, work and fun began days before the actual congress during the Leaders in Training session. It is like it happened yesterday. Crazy rides to the airport to pick the LIT students, preparing the room for the sessions, making sure everything was ready for the coffee break – all these are just a flavour of what congress can be. And then it was Day 0. I can hardly remember that day; it was like the earth was running away from my feet. People kept arriving at the Info desk, friends that I hadn’t seen since Taipei or Cairns congress were finally here! There were also a lot of new faces as well During International Night

What happened after? It is easy to guess - Pyjama party, Welcome cocktail party, International night at Banffy Castle, Open air party, Romanian wedding from Maramures, and Gala Night on top of Feleacu hill. These were some normal nights of August for millions of people, nights full of exploding energy for IPSF Congress participants, nights with same worries and questions for organisers: will buses be on time, will the food be enough, will people enjoy it, will they like the music? As stressful as it can be organising a congress, we would do it again in a glace. The feeling we got in the end cannot be described in words. And I am sure that our youngest volunteers who were involved for the first time in such a big event might not have even realized yet what they’ve gotten themselves into. Probably Bali would make them see the big picture of a congress. Congress reception committee has many pieces of the congress to put together in order to see the whole image. Tones of memories per every RC member are hard to process in such short time. It should be a must to taste the array of IPSF activities depending on one’s affinities as a pharmacy student. Nothing to lose, a lot to gain. Congress would be, for sure, the cherry on top of the cake. So, see you in Bali!

Anca Pop Chairperson of the 54th IPSF Congress Reception Committee

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Issue #60

Hello my very dear IPSF friends, Greetings from the green lands of Bangladesh. I am really not so sure where I should start. It was a fateful Saturday on the 3rd of May, 2008 at 4.12 pm when I received a mail from Anne-Marie, IPSF DF Coordinator saying that I had been awarded the IPSF Development Fund Grant for 20072008. My first feeling was, “O My God!!” I was speechless since it was beyond my expectations. My name is Mohammad Kawsar Sharif Siam, and I am from the small but very ingenious country of Bangladesh. It was my great honour to receive an IPSF Development Fund event grant th to attend the 54 IPSF World Congress in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, this August. It was a great honour and privilege for me because I was the only person from Bangladesh attending the congress and as a country delegate. To represent my country in such a big and glorious event was like a dream come true!

[Mohammad Siam] in Gala Night

As you may already know, IPSF Congress is the biggest event in the IPSF calendar year and an event not likely to be forgotten.

How true that is my friends. I was lucky enough to meet many young and energetic people from around the world holding the flagship of all pharmacy students worldwide. I believe the uniqueness of this congress is that it helps us to develop ourselves as future pharmacists and influence the pharmacy education and health care systems. This 11 day event with an international group of pharmacists gave me an opportunity to create some lifelong friendships and take part in unforgettable experiences for me. I enjoyed each and every moment of the congress days. It changed my vision and my work strategy. Since the congress many changes have been occurring in my national association. We have so many limitations but at the same time we have very high ambitions, and I accept as true that this will lead us to participate in more and more IPSF activities and events from now onward.

At congress, all the scientific and educational symposiums were very instructive, where up to date information was provided, which helped all the audiences. The workshops were well organized. I especially would like to mention the Patient Counselling Event workshop. For me the PCE was a bit of a new concept as hospital and community pharmacy is not well developed in a developing country like Bangladesh. But after the congress I felt like the new generation of pharmacy students should strongly consider patient counselling. Our association is planning to organize some seminars and lectures based on the “Development of Hospital and Community Pharmacy in Bangladesh” for our students. I hope this may help us to bring some changes in our current pharmacy sector. So many thanks are owed to John and Shirley for such a wonderful workshop. Other workshops such as AntiCounterfeit Drug workshop and TB workshop were informative as well, and we have come up with certain new ideas to combat counterfeiting and ways the students can help to stop drug counterfeiting.

Finally I would like to take the prospect to thank a few lovely people without whom my journey was nearly impossible. Mamunur Rashid Moon, Hussein, Mary, Neveen, Veronika, Juha, Anne-Marie, Anca, thanks a lot for your endless support and faith in me. I hope that my country and my association will achieve greater heights in the light of the success of my participation in this event. I look forward to succeeding in any new responsibilities IPSF may hold for me in the future. Hope to meet you in Bali, Indonesia.

Wishes, Mohammad Kawsar Sharif Siam th Contact Person and a participant of the 54 IPSF World Congress

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