European Pharmaceutical Students' Association
Encyclopedia
The European Pharmaceutical Students’ Association (EPSA) is a non-profit, non-governmental, non-political and non-religious association which represents 32 Pharmacy Students’ Associations from 28 countries, representing around 120.000 pharmacy students all around Europe
. Its main objective is ‘to develop the interests and opinions of European pharmacy students and to encourage contact and collaboration between them’. Actually, EPSA’s motto “Bringing Pharmacy, Knowledge and Students Together” reflects its will to promote the ideas and opinions of all the students of Pharmacy in Europe in order to improve the Education, the Pharmaceutical Profession and the Scientific Advances regarding Pharmacy.
EPSA has its headquarters in Brussels
, Belgium
, in PGEU’s offices. The Vice President of External Affairs works permanently there, collaborating with the Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union
in the promotion of the role of the pharmacist as key actor in public health. Before being settled in Brussels
, EPSA had its headquarters in Leiden, The Netherlands.
, IPSF, to establish a European Sub-Committee (ESC) to discuss this, something which was done later on that year in the IPSF Annual Congress held in Edinburgh
, United Kingdom
.
The European Sub-Committee became independent 4 years later in 1982, changing its name to the European Pharmaceutical Students’ Committee and was officially registered at the Tribunal d’ Illkirch in France
. The main purpose of this association was to work for the mutual recognition of pharmacy qualifications within Europe thus facilitating pharmacists’ free movement.
EPSA got its present name ten years after its independence at the 15th Annual Congress in Helsinki
, Finland
, and became official after the 16th Annual Congress in Tübingen
, Germany
, in 1993.
The Ordinary Members of EPSA have the right to vote in any ballot of the Association. In order to do it is necessary for Ordinary Members to present Annual and Half-year Liaison Secretaries Reports and to pay their Membership fees.
The EPSA Executive manages the affairs of the Association, and leads the work made in the name of EPSA on multiple fields.
European Sub-Committee (ESC) began with only one Executive member, the Chairperson. However, as the work load increased the need for additional board members became apparent. The ESC board was originally chosen at IPSF Congress. However, from 1982 onward, due to IPSF and ECS division, the Executive was chosen for the first time in an ESC Congress. Until 1998, the Board (composed of President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer) was elected at the congress, and the rest of the Executive appointed. From 1998 onwards the entire Executive was elected at the congress, and was assisted by a number of sub-committees.
After that, several changes were made in the Executive with the introduction of Vice-Presidents and Immediate Past President positions. The latest changes applied at Kraków’s Annual Congress in 2010 after EPSA’s restructuring. The actual structure of EPSA Executive is composed of 8 members, 6 elected and 2 appointed.
EPSA Executive 2011/2012
The Education Board is supervised by the Vice-President of Education, and consists of four coordinators. Each of them is responsible of leading the projects that fall under their domain.
EPSA has five officers who are responsible for taking care of the administrative and technical aspects of the association, as well as helping the VP of Public Relations in the communication field.
EPSA has three additional coordinators, two of them being responsible for ensuring sustainable incomes to EPSA, the last one leading the IMP project :
The Parliamentary Council is the supervising Authority of the Association, ensuring that all decisions taken are done according to the Association’s regulations and to intervene if not so. The Parliamentary Council is composed of three members and one of them is elected as Parliamentarian. Each member should be from a different country.
The EPSA accounts shall be audited by the Audit Committee, which should present a statement to General Assembly. Audit Committee consists of at least two persons which are appointed by Parliamentary Council and should be preferably from different countries.
The EPSA Annual Congress is the most important activity in all EPSA calendar. This is an event organized by both EPSA and the hosting association. In order to ensure its success, a Reception Committee (RC) is established, which chaired by the RC Chairperson, who is appointed as an EPSA Official and invited to Executive meetings with the aim of ensuring good communication between the EPSA team and the RC and hence a successful event.
The IMP Central Coordinator is elected, as the other EPSA officials, in EPSA General Assembly while the National/Local IMP Coordinators are elected (or appointed) by the National/Local Association they are representing.
EPSA has 24 Ordinary Members and 8 Associate Members, which are:
This is a chance for delegates from all the member organizations to come together to refuel their spirits and enthusiasm for the coming year. During the Annual Congress the new team of EPSA is elected for a one-year mandate by Ordinary Members of EPSA.
From 2004 to 2008, the EPSA Autumn Assembly was organised in collaboration with ESCP (European Society of Clinical Pharmacy) in an association of three events: the EPSA Annual 2nd Congress, the EPSA/ESCP Student Symposium and the ESCP Symposium.
In the year of 2009 EPSA organised for the first time this event in collaboration with DIA (Drug Information Association).
The next Autumn Assembly will held in Birmingham, England, in October 2011.
, Belgium
, in EPSA headquarters. The main aim of this event is for the EPSA team to present their work and projects to EPSA Board of Trustees, Partners and any institution which may be interested in EPSA’s work. This event is structured in such a way as to have a round table discussion, chaired by EPSA President, in order to improve EPSA work and projects with the experience and ideas of these professionals.
The topic of Annual Reception is chosen every year by EPSA Executive.
The first joint symposium of world healthcare students took place in Malta
from the 7 to 12 November 2005. The symposium brought together 230 medical, pharmacy and nursing students from 42 countries in an international forum. The conference was intended to generate understanding and discussion between the professions, develop skills and awareness of concepts in multidisciplinary settings, and to create student advocates for a cooperative multidisciplinary approach to patient centred care to optimise health outcomes.
There are a number of groups who work together to make this event happen which includes, obviously, EPSA. The other students’ associations involved are: International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA), International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation
(IPSF), European Nursing Students’ Association (ENSA), International Council of Nurses – Student Network (ICN-SN) and European Medical Students’ Association (EMSA).
The next WHSS will be held in November 2011, in Prague, Czech Republic.
Each EPSA member association receives copies of the NWL that are further distributed to students across Europe, as well as to EPSA Observers and professional associations, in a total of 5000 copies per edition.
It is sent out to all students, professional and governmental organisations, EPSA members and all the faculties of pharmacy in Europe. As an official document of the association it states what European Pharmacy Students believe regarding a specific issue.
This year 2010/2011, the Annual Topic voted at Kraków Annual Congress is Pharmacovigilance: Keeping our eyes open and our medicines safe. It was chosen wisely, following EPSA’s former Annual Topics regarding Information to Patients and Patents, Generics and Counterfeits, in order to complete the Pharmaceutical package.
.
This project allows the student or graduate to gain experience, knowledge, of the working practices and research techniques from the host company / institution in a project that can last between 2 and 12 months.
At a further stage, the most motivated and promising students can participate to the "Training New Trainers" event (TNT) in May, which will allow them to acquire strong leadership skills, and make them a part of the EPSA Training Team. They will consequently be able to train other students, spreading this knowledge to others at local/national events. The Training Project has the support from the European Commission, which can provide grants to organize such events through the Youth in Action Programme.
All information collected by EPSA team during its mandate will be saved and organized on this database.
This project aims to create an alumni weekend during EPSA Annual Congress, an alumni magazine, a section on EPSA official website dedicated to this issue and also an online platform with all important and relevant information regarding alumni – the EPSA Alumni Database.
, Nancy, London
and Lisbon
) that are members of the European Association of Faculties of Pharmacy (EAFP) and EU partners associations. Pharmine will examine the opportunity for the introduction of the principles of the Bologna process into pharmacy education and training with the aim of turning the latter to the future needs in the three areas of pharmaceutical expertise: community, hospital and industrial pharmacy. EPSA is a major collaborator of the Pharmine Consortium helping the consortium achieving its goal: elaboration of an EU curriculum for pharmacy education, which will be presented to the EU commission, national authorities and national professional pharmacy bodies.
A Twinnet Topic is chosen every year during General Assembly and the Liaison Secretaries from different countries are responsible to liaise with each other in order to organize this exchange between national associations. For the year 2010/2011, the Twinnet topic is Cancers and Lifestyle Diseases. The Vice President of Mobility ensures that the project is being taken properly and helps Liaison Secretaries finding European Grants to support these mobility projects.
is more than just a confederation of countries, but it is not a federal state. The EU policies in general, are the result of decisions taken by the institutional triangle made up of the Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission
, all based in Brussels
(the EU Parliament hold also in Luxembourg
a plenary every month).
More than 70% of national law is based on decisions taken in Brussels
. EU citizens are finding more and more that their lives are shaped by regulations established in Brussels. Companies and Associations in the European Union increasingly recognise the importance of lobbying at European level. Consequentially also EPSA, as a non-governmental organization that represent the interests of the pharmaceutical students, managed to have a permanent office in Brussels
and daily lobby to promote its interests at the EU Institutions in order that they will take EPSA opinion into account when they legislate.
EPSA maintains several meetings with officials of European Commission, especially from DG SANCO (Directorate General for Health and Consumer Affairs) and DG ENTR (Directorate General Enterprise and Industry) and deputies of the European Parliament (especially from ENVI Committee) promoting EPSA opinion on Pharmacovigilance and Pharmaceutical Care.
Being in Brussels
also allows EPSA to have the possibility to meet other students associations that are based as EPSA in the “Capital of Europe”.
(IPSF) represents 350,000 pharmacy students and recent graduates in 75 countries worldwide. IPSF is the leading international advocacy organisation for pharmacy students with the aim to promote improved public health through provision of information, education, networking and a range of publications and professional initiatives. This is a non-governmental, non-political and non-religious organization.
EPSA and IPSF have a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed every two years by the presidents of both associations. In this MoU it is agreed, for instance, that the president of both associations will be invited to one of the association’s Executive Meeting and that at least during one day of this meeting it will be discussed EPSA-IPSF collaboration. This document also defines measures to increase and maintain permanent communication between EPSA and IPSF – share of publications, organization of joint events, promotion of both associations, etc.
EPSA and IPSF work together in the organization of the World Healthcare Students’ Symposium and in 2009, have organized a joint EPSA-IPSF Educational day during EPSA Autumn Assembly.
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Its main objective is ‘to develop the interests and opinions of European pharmacy students and to encourage contact and collaboration between them’. Actually, EPSA’s motto “Bringing Pharmacy, Knowledge and Students Together” reflects its will to promote the ideas and opinions of all the students of Pharmacy in Europe in order to improve the Education, the Pharmaceutical Profession and the Scientific Advances regarding Pharmacy.
EPSA has its headquarters in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, in PGEU’s offices. The Vice President of External Affairs works permanently there, collaborating with the Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union
Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union
The Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union is the European association representing community pharmacists. PGEU’s members are the national associations and representative bodies of community pharmacists in 30 European countries including the 25 European Union member states, European Union...
in the promotion of the role of the pharmacist as key actor in public health. Before being settled in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, EPSA had its headquarters in Leiden, The Netherlands.
History
In 1978, the French Pharmacy Students' Association, ANEPF, invited students from other European countries to their annual congress in Nancy. The reason for this was to discuss the forthcoming European Community directives on the mutual recognition of pharmacy degrees and to compare studies between different countries. However, it turned out that this was more difficult than expected and required a longer time to be done. All participants expressed the need of further discussion between them. Therefore, it was proposed to the International Pharmaceutical Students’ FederationInternational Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation
Founded in London in 1949, the International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation is one of the world’s oldest international student volunteer organisation...
, IPSF, to establish a European Sub-Committee (ESC) to discuss this, something which was done later on that year in the IPSF Annual Congress held in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
The European Sub-Committee became independent 4 years later in 1982, changing its name to the European Pharmaceutical Students’ Committee and was officially registered at the Tribunal d’ Illkirch in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. The main purpose of this association was to work for the mutual recognition of pharmacy qualifications within Europe thus facilitating pharmacists’ free movement.
EPSA got its present name ten years after its independence at the 15th Annual Congress in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, and became official after the 16th Annual Congress in Tübingen
Tübingen
Tübingen is a traditional university town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, on a ridge between the Neckar and Ammer rivers.-Geography:...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, in 1993.
General Assembly
According to the Terms of Reference and Standing Orders (TORSO), the highest decision-making body in EPSA is the General Assembly. General Assemblies are held twice a year, first during the Annual Congress in April, and then during the Autumn Assembly in October. This ensures a smooth running of the association whilst taking important decisions, including TORSO changes.The Ordinary Members of EPSA have the right to vote in any ballot of the Association. In order to do it is necessary for Ordinary Members to present Annual and Half-year Liaison Secretaries Reports and to pay their Membership fees.
EPSA Team
The EPSA Team is elected every year at EPSA’s Annual Congress. Led by the Executive, the EPSA Team cooperates all year with EPSA's member organisations in order to achieve EPSA goals.Executive
The EPSA Executive manages the affairs of the Association, and leads the work made in the name of EPSA on multiple fields.
European Sub-Committee (ESC) began with only one Executive member, the Chairperson. However, as the work load increased the need for additional board members became apparent. The ESC board was originally chosen at IPSF Congress. However, from 1982 onward, due to IPSF and ECS division, the Executive was chosen for the first time in an ESC Congress. Until 1998, the Board (composed of President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer) was elected at the congress, and the rest of the Executive appointed. From 1998 onwards the entire Executive was elected at the congress, and was assisted by a number of sub-committees.
After that, several changes were made in the Executive with the introduction of Vice-Presidents and Immediate Past President positions. The latest changes applied at Kraków’s Annual Congress in 2010 after EPSA’s restructuring. The actual structure of EPSA Executive is composed of 8 members, 6 elected and 2 appointed.
EPSA Executive 2011/2012
- President: Guilherme Monteiro Ferreira (PRT)
- Vice-President of Education: Eeva-Riitta Ryynänen (FIN)
- Secretary General: Pedro Ricardo Maelha Barroca (PRT)
- Treasurer: Willem Rauwe (NLD)
- Vice-President of Public Relations: Raluca Negricea (ROM)
- Vice-President of Mobility: Diana Mereu (ROM)
- Vice-President of External Affairs (appointed): Bojan Davinic (SRB)
- Immediate Past President (appointed): Anette Aaland Krokaas (NOR)
Education Board
The Education Board is supervised by the Vice-President of Education, and consists of four coordinators. Each of them is responsible of leading the projects that fall under their domain.
- Coordinator of Social Services and Public Health Department : Cristina Parau (ROM)
- Coordinator of Education and Professional Affairs Department : Inkatuuli Heikkinen (FIN)
- Coordinator of Science Department : Maria Manataki (GRC)
- Training coordinator : Tiia Metiäinen (FIN)
Officers
EPSA has five officers who are responsible for taking care of the administrative and technical aspects of the association, as well as helping the VP of Public Relations in the communication field.
- Publications officer: Charlene Galea (MLT)
- Design officer: Stefan Rack (GRM)
- Information Technology officer: Srdjan Radak (SRB)
- Events officer: Roberto Barros (PRT)
- Alumni officer: Anette Aaland Krokas (NOR)
Coordinators
EPSA has three additional coordinators, two of them being responsible for ensuring sustainable incomes to EPSA, the last one leading the IMP project :
- Partnership coordinator : Milos Stojkovic (SRB)
- Grant coordinator : Jules Heuberger (NLD)
- Central IMP coordinator : Laura Scurtu (ROM)
Parliamentary Council
The Parliamentary Council is the supervising Authority of the Association, ensuring that all decisions taken are done according to the Association’s regulations and to intervene if not so. The Parliamentary Council is composed of three members and one of them is elected as Parliamentarian. Each member should be from a different country.
- Parliamentarian: Louise Winnecke Jensen (DNK) - Honorary Life Member
- Parliamentary Council Member 1: Nilhan Uzman (TUR)
- Parliamentary Council Member 2: Chiara van Rodijnen (NLD)
Audit Committee
The EPSA accounts shall be audited by the Audit Committee, which should present a statement to General Assembly. Audit Committee consists of at least two persons which are appointed by Parliamentary Council and should be preferably from different countries.
- Audit Committee Member 1: Oana Mustatea (ROM)
- Audit Committee Member 2: Karolina Antoniak (POL)
Annual Congress Reception Committee Chairperson
The EPSA Annual Congress is the most important activity in all EPSA calendar. This is an event organized by both EPSA and the hosting association. In order to ensure its success, a Reception Committee (RC) is established, which chaired by the RC Chairperson, who is appointed as an EPSA Official and invited to Executive meetings with the aim of ensuring good communication between the EPSA team and the RC and hence a successful event.
- Istanbul EPSA AC 2012 RC Chairperson: Ahmet Can Kalenderoğlu (TUR)
Liaison Secretaries
EPSA Liaison Secretaries are elected or appointed by Member Organizations and their main task is to insure the implementation of EPSA projects at a local level and establish the connection between the executive of the National Organization and EPSA executive. Liaison Secretaries are Official Delegates with voting rights at General Assembly.Individual Mobility Project (IMP) Coordinator Board
The IMP Coordinator Board works to benefit the development of the EPSA Individual Mobility Project (IMP) as a whole. It consists if a Central IMP Coordinator and of National/Local IMP Coordinators as representatives of every EPSA member organization that is participating in the Individual Mobility Project.The IMP Central Coordinator is elected, as the other EPSA officials, in EPSA General Assembly while the National/Local IMP Coordinators are elected (or appointed) by the National/Local Association they are representing.
Member Organizations
The EPSA Ordinary Member Organizations are National Pharmaceutical Students' Associations of countries within the geographical entity of Europe, which are recognised by the Council of Europe as independent countries. EPSA has also Associate Members – pharmaceutical students association that do not represent the majority of faculties in a country.EPSA has 24 Ordinary Members and 8 Associate Members, which are:
- http://www.aefful.pt/AEFFUL Students' Association of the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Lisbon (Associação dos Estudantes da Faculdade de Farmácia da Universidade de Lisboa) - Portugal
- http://www.ahups.net.tr/AHUPS Association of Hacettepe University Pharmacy Students’(Hacettepe Üniversitesi Eczacılık Öğrencileri Birliği)
- AISFA Italian Pharmaceutical Students' Association (Associazione Italiana Studenti di Farmacia)
- http://www.anepf.org/ANEPF French National Pharmaceutical Students' Association (Association Nationale des Etudiants en Pharmacie de France)
- http://www.apef.pt/APEF Portuguese Pharmaceutical Students' Association (Associação Portuguesa de Estudantes de Farmácia)
- ArMSA Armenian Pharmaceutical Students' Association
- http://www.asep.ch/asep Swiss student association in pharmacy (association suisse des étudiants en pharmacie)
- http://www.bphd.de/BPhD German Pharmaceutical Students’ Association (Bundesverband der Pharmaziestudierend en Deutschland)
- http://www.bphsa.org/BPhSA Bulgarian Pharmaceutical Students' Association (Българска фармацевтична студентска асоциация)
- http://www.bpsa.co.uk/BPSA British Pharmaceutical Students' Association
- http://www.cpsa.hr/CPSA Croatian Pharmacy and Medical biochemistry Students' Association (Udruga studenata farmacije i medicinske biokemije Hrvatske)
- FASFR Federation of Pharmacy Students' Associations in Romania (Federatia Asociatilor Studentilor Farmacisti din Romania)
- http://feef.portalfarma.com/FEEF Spanish Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation (Federación Española de Estudiantes de Farmacia)
- http://www.sfao.net/FiPSA Finnish Pharmaceutical Students' Association
- http://www.pharm.auth.gr/department/studassoc.htmGPSF Greek Pharmaceutical Students Federation
- http://www.hupsa.sote.hu/HUPSA Hungarian Pharmaceutical Students' Association (Magyar Gyógyszerészhallgatók Egyesülete)
- IUPSA Int Istanbul University Pharmaceutical Students' Association International - Turkey
- http://www.knpsv.nl/K.N.P.S.V. Royal Dutch Association of Pharmaceutical Students (Koninklijke Nederlandse Pharmaceutische Studenten Vereniging)
- LPSA Latvian Pharmacy Students' Association (Latvijas Farmacijas Studentu Asociacija)
- http://www.ff.ukim.edu.mk/MPSA Macedonian Pharmaceutical Students' Association (Студентски Сојуз на Фармацевти на Македонија)
- http://www.mpsaonline.org/MPSA Malta Pharmaceutical Students' Association
- MUPSA Marmara University Pharmaceutical Students’ Association
- http://www.napser.org/NAPSer National Association of Pharmacy Students of Serbia (Nacionalna Asocijacija Studenata Farmacije-Srbija)
- http://www.placeboweb.org/NoPSA Norwegian Pharmaceutical Students' Association
- http://www.sssf.sk.comSPSA Slovakian Pharmaceutical Students' Association
- http://www.sfd.kmu.lt/index.htmSFD Students' Pharmaceutical Association - Lithuania
- http://www.snaps-online.se/SNAPS Swedish National Association of Pharmaceutical Students
- http://www.student.farma.ku.dk/SoP Students of Pharmaceutical Science - Denmark
- http://www.ssfb.ro/SSFB Bucharest Pharamceutical Students Society (Societatea Studentilor in Farmacie Bucuresti
- http://www.farma-drustvo.siSSSFD Students' Section of Slovene Pharmaceutical Society (Študentska sekcija Slovenskega farmacevtskega društva)
- http://www.usf.cz/USF Union of students pharmacy (Unie Student Farmacie) – Czech Republic
- YP Young Pharmacy (Mloda Farmacja) – Poland
Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees is made up of professionals from the pharmaceutical field that assist the EPSA Executive with their expertise and contacts. The members of EPSA Board of Trustees are:- Prof. Bart Rombaut
- Dr. D. Tromp
- Jaka Brumen
- Ivana Silva
- Prof. Ian Bates
- Dr. Hubertus Cranz
- Dr. Catherine Duggan
- Dr. Graham Davies
- Prof. Momir Mikov
- Dr.Raisa Laaksonen
- Dr. Hans Linden
Honorary Life Member
The Honorary Life Membership is granted to persons who have done remarkable work for the Association. Thanks to their work EPSA has improved substantially to meet its aims with professionalism and excellence. The Honorary Life Members (HLM’s) are elected by General Assembly with a two-thirds majority. The following people are currently Honorary Life Members of EPSA:- 2000 Niamh Fitzgerald
- 2001 Ivana Silva
- 2002 Diogo Cruz
- 2002 Micheal Gafa
- 2003 Sean McAteer
- 2003 Lucija Sotosek
- 2004 Jorrit Peter Neumann
- 2006 Timo Mohnani
- 2007 Vaiva Deltuvaitė
- 2007 Jaka Brumen
- 2008 Alena Petrikova
- 2009 Boštjan Čeh
- 2009 Jūratė Švarcaitė
- 2010 Fokion Sinis
- 2010 Louise Winnecke Jensen
Annual Congress
The annual EPSA congress is the biggest and most important event in the EPSA calendar and takes place usually in April. It is where all EPSA members have the opportunity to meet and discuss EPSA and the Pharmacy Profession in General. The EPSA Annual Congress gathers an Educational Program (workshops and trainings), Social Program and the first EPSA General Assembly of the year is held during this event. EPSA Annual Congress is 7 days and 6 nights long. Istanbul, Turkey was elected as the host city for the next Annual Congress in 2011.This is a chance for delegates from all the member organizations to come together to refuel their spirits and enthusiasm for the coming year. During the Annual Congress the new team of EPSA is elected for a one-year mandate by Ordinary Members of EPSA.
Autumn Assembly
The EPSA Autumn Assembly is EPSA's second most important event and takes place usually in October. The purpose of the EPSA Autumn Assembly is to provide an opportunity for EPSA members to review the work of the association half way through the year and at the same time to renew motivation and commitment to EPSA. The second EPSA General Assembly of the year is hold during Autumn Assembly.From 2004 to 2008, the EPSA Autumn Assembly was organised in collaboration with ESCP (European Society of Clinical Pharmacy) in an association of three events: the EPSA Annual 2nd Congress, the EPSA/ESCP Student Symposium and the ESCP Symposium.
In the year of 2009 EPSA organised for the first time this event in collaboration with DIA (Drug Information Association).
The next Autumn Assembly will held in Birmingham, England, in October 2011.
Summer University
The Summer University is the third main EPSA event of the year and takes place usually in the end of July. This event is characterized by an educational and social agenda. Unlike the others events of EPSA already mentioned, during the Summer University is not held any EPSA General Assembly. The 13th edition of the Summer University took place in the beautiful city of Krakow, in Poland, in August 2011.Annual Reception
The Annual Reception (AR) is organised every year usually in February in BrusselsBrussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, in EPSA headquarters. The main aim of this event is for the EPSA team to present their work and projects to EPSA Board of Trustees, Partners and any institution which may be interested in EPSA’s work. This event is structured in such a way as to have a round table discussion, chaired by EPSA President, in order to improve EPSA work and projects with the experience and ideas of these professionals.
The topic of Annual Reception is chosen every year by EPSA Executive.
WHSS – World Healthcare Students’ Symposium
The WHSS is a multi-professional four day conference bringing together healthcare students from all around the world.The first joint symposium of world healthcare students took place in Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
from the 7 to 12 November 2005. The symposium brought together 230 medical, pharmacy and nursing students from 42 countries in an international forum. The conference was intended to generate understanding and discussion between the professions, develop skills and awareness of concepts in multidisciplinary settings, and to create student advocates for a cooperative multidisciplinary approach to patient centred care to optimise health outcomes.
There are a number of groups who work together to make this event happen which includes, obviously, EPSA. The other students’ associations involved are: International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA), International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation
International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation
Founded in London in 1949, the International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation is one of the world’s oldest international student volunteer organisation...
(IPSF), European Nursing Students’ Association (ENSA), International Council of Nurses – Student Network (ICN-SN) and European Medical Students’ Association (EMSA).
The next WHSS will be held in November 2011, in Prague, Czech Republic.
Parkinson’s Disease Summerschool
This is a joint project involving EPSA, EMSA, ENSA and EFPSA, gathering healthcare students for 9 days to conduct research on Parkinson’s disease. The students are divided into international and interdisciplinary teams, get to present their work to experts in the field and hear their advice. The 4th Parkinson’s Disease Summer School will take place in Warsaw, Poland, in August 2012.Newsletter
The EPSA Newsletter is the official EPSA publication. It is published three times a year, and is distributed to all EPSA members, contact organizations and sponsors. The Newsletter contains articles from the EPSA Officials, members and professionals and aims to spread EPSA's latest developments regarding its projects and to exchange knowledge and experiences between them. Including a broad variety of topics, it also contributes to the communication between students of member countries, who want to share ideas, comments and experiences. Additionally, it serves to highlight the important issues for pharmacy students across Europe and to pass information about future events.Each EPSA member association receives copies of the NWL that are further distributed to students across Europe, as well as to EPSA Observers and professional associations, in a total of 5000 copies per edition.
Information Letter
The EPSA Information Letter aims to contain relevant and useful information for European pharmacy students. It is published every month by the Publications Officer and contains pertinent topics from EU main professional and students’ organizations, health sciences news and discoveries and also a short resume of relevant scientific articles. The Information Letter is sent by e-mail to all students, teachers and professionals that subscribe EPSA News e-group and is also available in EPSA official website.Circular
The EPSA Circular contains the most recent information regarding the association’s projects and activities. It is a server for promotion of activities and distribution of the outcomes and the Statements of Opinions from the events. This publication is a great mean to reach pharmacy students all over Europe. The EPSA Circular is sent by e-mail once a month to all those that subscribe to EPSA News e-group, and is also available in EPSA's official website. Every Member Association receives this publication in electronic version and is responsible to print and distribute it to the students.Report Booklet
The Report Booklet is published every year and it aims to present the conclusions taken by EPSA team during its mandate. This includes the conclusions taken from workshops, together with the result of the EPSA Annual Questionnaire and Statements of Opinion. The Immediate Past President is responsible to make this compilation and publish it.It is sent out to all students, professional and governmental organisations, EPSA members and all the faculties of pharmacy in Europe. As an official document of the association it states what European Pharmacy Students believe regarding a specific issue.
Social networks
EPSA also uses several social networks daily, such as Facebook, Twitter, and the EPSA blog to reach its students and provide them with updated information about its activities.Annual Topic
Every year, the EPSA Annual Topic is voted by the General Assembly at the Annual Congress. The main purpose for the Annual Topic is to provide accurate information to European students for them to be able to gain valuable knowledge on the topic. To achieve this level of knowledge, EPSA will provide them with conferences by international speakers throughout the year, using the Annual Topic as a connecting thread between its events. All of the important information will be summarized in the Report Booklet at the end of the year.This year 2010/2011, the Annual Topic voted at Kraków Annual Congress is Pharmacovigilance: Keeping our eyes open and our medicines safe. It was chosen wisely, following EPSA’s former Annual Topics regarding Information to Patients and Patents, Generics and Counterfeits, in order to complete the Pharmaceutical package.
Individual Mobility Project (IMP)
The EPSA Individual Mobility Project is a long term project that gives the opportunity to students of pharmacy, particularly those in their late years of studies, and recent-graduates of pharmacy or pharmaceutical sciences from all European countries (members of EPSA) to gain an additional real-time work or experience, mainly in the fields of research and industry. Consequently, the IMP represents a unique opportunity for students and recent graduates to also in gain valuable knowledge of other European countries, customs, cultures as well as learning and getting to know the European diversity, which are the experiences encouraged also by the European CommissionEuropean Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
.
This project allows the student or graduate to gain experience, knowledge, of the working practices and research techniques from the host company / institution in a project that can last between 2 and 12 months.
Annual Questionnaire
Each year, the topic of the Annual Questionnaire is chosen and questions concerning all fields related to this topic are included in the questionnaire which is then distributed to all member organizations to hand out to students. The results derived are then presented to professional organizations. This year, the topic for the annual questionnaire is Learning across Health professions - Multidisciplinary and Interdisciplinary Aspects of Pharmacy Education.Lifelong Learning Certificate
The EPSA Lifelong Learning Certificate provides pharmacy students who actively participate in professional and educational activities organized or promoted by EPSA, the opportunity to gain tangible credit for these activities. It also introduces, at an early stage in the development of these future healthcare professionals, the important principles of Lifelong Learning as well as establishing the importance of documenting professional activities. The Certificate is granted to those who achieve 5 Lifelong Learning Points in one year (from April to March). The points can be obtained by attending the educational aspect of EPSA events or by attending an EPSA approved education project at a local level.Training Project
This new concept was introduced in 2005, and is lead within EPSA by the Training Coordinator. Through Training events, students’ knowledge on topics usually not included in the classical Pharmacy education (e.g. project management, communication and counseling skills) is improved by providing them training during EPSA events.At a further stage, the most motivated and promising students can participate to the "Training New Trainers" event (TNT) in May, which will allow them to acquire strong leadership skills, and make them a part of the EPSA Training Team. They will consequently be able to train other students, spreading this knowledge to others at local/national events. The Training Project has the support from the European Commission, which can provide grants to organize such events through the Youth in Action Programme.
EPSA Super-Duper Database
This project aims to create an online database with all relevant information to EPSA and its members. This database will be available on EPSA official website and can be accessed by all pharmacists’ students around Europe. It will contain information about the differences between the pharmacy course around Europe (number of year of studies, curricula, etc.), the profession itself (list of pharmacy organizations that exist in the country, health institutions, number of pharmacists in each country, etc.) and also the main characteristics of the country (currency, weather, life cost, etc.). With this project EPSA will create platform where students can find all information that they need about the country where they are going to experience a mobility project.All information collected by EPSA team during its mandate will be saved and organized on this database.
EPSA Alumni Database
Since the foundation of EPSA many students have spent much of their time working for the association. Due to all of them, EPSA is today one of the most respectful associations within Europe. The EPSA Alumni project aims to link the current EPSA team and members to the old ones, in order to make EPSA grow with the advice, expertise and great example of these people. This project offers the opportunity to maintain contact with all EPSA enthusiasts and also to keep the alumni benefiting from the association who they have given a lot of time and energy to. The alumni officer is in charge of contacting all alumni in order to gather their expertise and include them in trainings database.This project aims to create an alumni weekend during EPSA Annual Congress, an alumni magazine, a section on EPSA official website dedicated to this issue and also an online platform with all important and relevant information regarding alumni – the EPSA Alumni Database.
Pharmine Project
The Pharmine Consortium consists of four universities (BrusselsBrussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Nancy, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
) that are members of the European Association of Faculties of Pharmacy (EAFP) and EU partners associations. Pharmine will examine the opportunity for the introduction of the principles of the Bologna process into pharmacy education and training with the aim of turning the latter to the future needs in the three areas of pharmaceutical expertise: community, hospital and industrial pharmacy. EPSA is a major collaborator of the Pharmine Consortium helping the consortium achieving its goal: elaboration of an EU curriculum for pharmacy education, which will be presented to the EU commission, national authorities and national professional pharmacy bodies.
TWINNET Project
The Twinnet Project aims to connect students from different countries and also to provide them an extracurricular knowledge during a short period of time. The Team Mobility Project includes TWIN (bilateral), THREEN (three lateral) and Multilateral (QUATRINO, MULTI-Exchange Projects) student projects among different associations.A Twinnet Topic is chosen every year during General Assembly and the Liaison Secretaries from different countries are responsible to liaise with each other in order to organize this exchange between national associations. For the year 2010/2011, the Twinnet topic is Cancers and Lifestyle Diseases. The Vice President of Mobility ensures that the project is being taken properly and helps Liaison Secretaries finding European Grants to support these mobility projects.
EPSA in European Union
The European UnionEuropean Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
is more than just a confederation of countries, but it is not a federal state. The EU policies in general, are the result of decisions taken by the institutional triangle made up of the Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
, all based in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
(the EU Parliament hold also in Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
a plenary every month).
- The Council of the European Union, representing national governments, is the EU’s main decision-making body. The EU member states take it in turns to hold the Council Presidency for a six-month period. Every Council meeting is attended by one minister from each EU country.
- The European Parliament is the elected body that represents the EU’s citizens. It exercises political supervision over the EU’s activities and takes part in the legislative process.
- The Commission, a body independent of EU governments that upholds the collective European interest, is the third part of the institutional triangle that manages and runs the European Union. The Commission is assisted by a civil service made up of 36 directorates-general (DGs) and services.
More than 70% of national law is based on decisions taken in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
. EU citizens are finding more and more that their lives are shaped by regulations established in Brussels. Companies and Associations in the European Union increasingly recognise the importance of lobbying at European level. Consequentially also EPSA, as a non-governmental organization that represent the interests of the pharmaceutical students, managed to have a permanent office in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
and daily lobby to promote its interests at the EU Institutions in order that they will take EPSA opinion into account when they legislate.
EPSA maintains several meetings with officials of European Commission, especially from DG SANCO (Directorate General for Health and Consumer Affairs) and DG ENTR (Directorate General Enterprise and Industry) and deputies of the European Parliament (especially from ENVI Committee) promoting EPSA opinion on Pharmacovigilance and Pharmaceutical Care.
Being in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
also allows EPSA to have the possibility to meet other students associations that are based as EPSA in the “Capital of Europe”.
EPSA-IPSF
The International Pharmaceutical Students’ FederationInternational Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation
Founded in London in 1949, the International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation is one of the world’s oldest international student volunteer organisation...
(IPSF) represents 350,000 pharmacy students and recent graduates in 75 countries worldwide. IPSF is the leading international advocacy organisation for pharmacy students with the aim to promote improved public health through provision of information, education, networking and a range of publications and professional initiatives. This is a non-governmental, non-political and non-religious organization.
EPSA and IPSF have a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed every two years by the presidents of both associations. In this MoU it is agreed, for instance, that the president of both associations will be invited to one of the association’s Executive Meeting and that at least during one day of this meeting it will be discussed EPSA-IPSF collaboration. This document also defines measures to increase and maintain permanent communication between EPSA and IPSF – share of publications, organization of joint events, promotion of both associations, etc.
EPSA and IPSF work together in the organization of the World Healthcare Students’ Symposium and in 2009, have organized a joint EPSA-IPSF Educational day during EPSA Autumn Assembly.