IPSF EuRO History
Established in 2013, IPSF EuRO is the European division of IPSF, working to advocate for pharmacy and pharmaceutical science students and recent graduates within the European Regional Office. Our aims are to promote improved public health through the provision of information, education, networking and a range of publications and professional activities.
The IPSF European Regional Office (EuRO) is the youngest of the Regional Offices of the Federation, established in 2013, during the 59th IPSF World Congress in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Initially, the IPSF EuRO Regional Working Group was composed only of the Chairperson of EuRO, who is also a part of the IPSF Executive Committee.
In August 2014, IPSF EuRO held its first Regional Assembly during the 60th IPSF World Congress in Porto, Portugal. There, the IPSF EuRO Regional Working Group saw its first expansion which added two new team members – the Regional Relations Officer (RRO) and the Regional Projects Officer (RPO).
In order to maintain a strong presence on social media and other channels, IPSF EuRO also needed a Regional Media and Publications Officer (RMPO), as was the practice in other Regional Offices. Thus, the first call for the position was opened following the 2nd IPSF EuRO Regional Assembly in Hyderabad, India, in August 2015.
Further attempts at expanding the RWG were made during the 3rd EuRO Regional Assembly in Harare, Zimbabwe in August 2016. The expansion of work in the 2015/2016 mandate, was crucial in supporting the implementation of a Secretary position in the IPSF EuRO Regional Working Group. At this time, the Immediate Past Chairperson function was also officially recognised as having an advisory role.
For the mandate of 2016/2017, the RWG expanded yet again with the creation of various Sub-Committee member positions. The first IPSF EuRO Newsletter was released and the first IPSF EuRO Pharmacy Week was held.
In the mandate 2017/2018, IPSF had Sub-Committee members under the guidance of the Regional Projects Officer, the Regional Relations Officer and the Regional Media and Publications Officer, in order to ensure a stronger presence and importance of the Regional Office within the European region. The first EuRO Regional Assembly organised as a separate event from the IPSF World Congress was held in 2018, in Lisbon, Portugal. The Chairperson of the 5th IPSF EuRO Regional Assembly was added to the IPSF EuRO Team and this position would later become a permanent addition to the IPSF EuRO Regional Working Group. The IPSF EuRO Sub-Regions Project was implemented this year as well with the aim of bringing Member Organisations within the Regional Office closer together.
In 2018/2019, the 1st IPSF European Regional Symposium was organised in Warsaw, Poland and the IPSF EuRO Behind the Scenes was created.
In the mandate of 2019/2020, the first call for a regional-focused IPSF EuRO Leaders in Training was released and the first IPSF online EuRO Regional Assembly was organised due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The main achievements also included the creation of the first version of this document, the “IPSF EuRO Documents” folder serving as a library of all relevant regional documentation and the creation of an IPSF EuRO CP specific training programme.
In 2020/2021, the first regional-focused IPSF EuRO Leaders in Training was held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, hosted by PPSA, Poland. For the first time, IPSF EuRO Team Weekend was organised in order to bring together IPSF EuRO RWG, Sub-Committees, Contact Persons and Student Exchange Officers. The 2nd IPSF European Regional Symposium saw its realisation, together with the 10th IPSF EuRO Regional Assembly, online, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, hosted by AEFFUP, Portugal. Moreover, all IPSF EuRO RWG and Sub-Committee members developed respective guideline documents in order to ensure smooth handovers with their successors.
During the 2021/22 mandate, collaborations with the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA) Europe increased through joint planning of sessions at the WHO Europe events, namely, the Youth4Health forum in Tirana, Albania and the Regional Committee in Tel Aviv, Israel. Furthermore, inter-regional collaborations within IPSF were further expanded through collaborative RPO projects with the IPSF African Regional Office (AfRO) and the EuROxAPRO policy collaboration. Regional Assembly guidelines were also created for the first time in the region, and the Sub-Committee position member of Policy Assistant was created. The Region also secured an external sponsorship from Right Medicine Pharmacy, from Scotland, United Kingdom.
In 2022/23, IPSF EuRO’s relationship with WHO/Europe grew through being one of few youth organisations invited to officially establish the Youth4Health network, at its opening ceremony in Copenhagen, Denmark, attended by the IPSF EuRO Chairperson 2022-23. Furthermore a Policy & Advocacy toolkit was devised on the topic Interprofessional Collaboration, and a Policy Statement in collaboration with IPSF Asia Pacific Regional Office (APRO) on Expanding the Scope of Pharmaceutical Services was published. An external sponsorship was also secured with EUPharmacistsUK from the United Kingdom.
During the 2023/24 mandate, the first hybrid Team Weekend was organised. This took place in The Hague, The Netherlands in March 2024. This event invited EuRO RWG, CPs, SEOs and Subcommittee members face-to-face mid mandate and featured a more extensive programme compared to its online counterpart, including sessions on CP, SEO, and Subcommittee activities, a policy workshop, reflections from past IPSF EuRO Chairpersons, a mock GA, a hangout session, and a public health session. Due to no bidding Member Organisation to host the European Regional Symposium this mandate, the IPSF EuRO RWG (with EuRO CP voting) took the decision for the regional office to host its own Regional Assembly in the Hague, the Netherlands without an MO support but rather an international Reception Committee from the Netherlands, TĂĽrkiye, Slovenia and the UK. Additionally this was the first IPSF EuRO mandate where a TDC and LIT were held in-person in the same year. Furthermore an external sponsorship was gained from Pre-Reg Shortcuts from the United Kingdom.
Currently, the IPSF EuRO Team includes the seven members of the IPSF EuRO RWG - the Chairperson, Secretary, RMPO, RRO, RPO, Chairperson of the EuRS and Immediate Past Chairperson - 14 Sub-Committee member positions and the Reception Committee of the EuRS.