What does IPSF do?
Development Fund
The Development Fund (DF) was established in 1969, almost 40 years ago. Since that its main goal has been to give each and every pharmacy student an equal opportunity to fully participate in IPSF activities. The Development Fund was created to help people to participate in IPSF Congresses. In addition to this, it can nowadays support students when they are taking part in IPSF Student Exchange Programme, running IPSF Campaigns or IPSF membership fees.
When making decisions on DF Grants, applicants coming from the developing countries are prioritised. The Development Fund is steered by the Development Fund Committee that consists of three members and the IPSF Treasurer. It is chaired by the Development Fund Co-ordinator ( df@ipsf.org). Also the Chairperson of Student Exchange and the Student Exchange Committee are taking part in the decisions on Student Exchange grants.
The main source of the DF funds is charity auctions held in the IPSF World Congress and in the Regional Symposia. The idea of the auction is that congress participants bring unique and genuine items from their home countries. Some items are even especially tailor-made for the auction. Other income sources are donations and congress profits. IPSF congresses are non-profit events but in the occasion of any profit, the congress host must donate part of the profit to the Development Fund according to IPSF constitution. If you wish to donate money please contact to IPSF Treasurer ( treasurer@ipsf.org).
More detailed information about the DF Grants
Each year, the DF Committee sends out the calls for applications to DF grants. All applications have to be sent in an official application form by the deadline set by the DF Committee and they must follow the guidance in the application form and call for applications. Calls are distributed through IPSF website and IPSF e-groups and IPSF Contact Persons are responsible for distributing it further nationally. See the latest DF News.
DF Event Grant is for the IPSF World Congress, Asian Pacific Pharmaceutical Symposium (APPS) and Pan American Regional Symposium (PARS). The application period is usually from December to February. This grant can cover the registration fee, registration fee and travel costs partly or registration fee and travel costs fully.
DF Student Exchange Grant is meant to support students participating in the IPSF Student Exchange Programme. It covers the Student Exchange fee and part of travel costs. The application period is usually from December to February. National Student Exchange Officers (SEO) are distributing information about this grant nationally.
DF Project Grant is to help IPSF Members financially to implement IPSF campaigns. This grant is still under development and so far DF has only supported Moving On II and III surveys.
DF Membership Fee Grant is meant to pay membership fees of IPSF Members associations from developing countries. To be able to get a grant members must actively participate in IPSF activities over the past and the coming year. A member can get this grant only in two years of three and this grant can not cover any membership fee debt or student exchange fees. The application period is from October to December.
Publications
There are frequent newsletters, online and occasionally in print, as well as an annual Newsbulletin and report and other IPSF publications.
World AIDS Day was on Dec. 1st
Click here to view the Aids Newsletter
Click here to view the Diabetes Newsletter
To keep up to date on all the work of the federation throughout the year, a full list of the IPSF publications is available at: http://www.ipsf.org/ under the Publications tab
Canadian students may also contact their Local CAPSI reps or Local IPSF reps for any publications they may be interested in.
Public Health
For over fifty years, IPSF has strived to actively engage our members in initiatives that positively influence health and health knowledge within their communities. By focusing on globally relevant issues and offering resources and materials to our Members, IPSF aims to provide various opportunities for students and recent graduates to expand their involvement in the public health arena.
IPSF has chosen several significant topics on which to focus efforts, all of which are under the direction of the World Health Organization with whom IPSF holds Official Relations status.
These topics are:
- Diabetes and Healthy Living Awareness Day on November 4th
- HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on December 1st
- World Health Tuberculosis Awareness Day on March 24th
- World Health Day on April 7th
- Anti-couterfeit drug campaign
- Tobacco Awareness Day on May 31st
It is important to report health campaigns activities to IPSF, so then they can report to WHO was has been done and show the great involvement of IPSF students around the world. Please report your activities to your local contact person or the IPSF Liaison.
As well as these formal public health events, IPSF encourages its members to identify public health issues in their region and work with other health care professionals to improve overall health and welfare in their communities.
Canadian Students are encouraged to contact their local IPSF reps prior to these dates to find out what each school has planned to mark each day.
For more information about these international public health campaigns, please follow the links from the Public Health tab on the IPSF website
Professional Development
The Federation has long since recognized the importance of giving pharmacy students the chance to practice and improve their skills as health-care providers. Pharmacy students around the world are waking up to the fact that they can make a great impact on the lives of their patients and can do more than just "lick-stick-and-pour".
Canadian Students are extremely fortunate because CAPSI organizes many outstanding events to improve student’s skills as a health-care provider. Events such as Patient Counseling competitions, Student Literary Challenge, OTC Counseling and Compounding Competitions are just now being introduced to many pharmacy schools. CAPSI members are encouraged to become familiar with the IPSF-run initiatives to see how other pharmacy students are honing their professional skills.
To explore the professional development opportunities that IPSF can offer, please visit: http://www.ipsf.org/pd.php
Pharmacy Education
As most people already know, keeping up to date with the newest research and trends is crucial for any pharmacist to remain the best health care provider possible. As such, the IPSF is committed to ensuring quality pharmacy education, at both the institution and membership levels. Through original research and organized educational events, IPSF strives to provide pharmaceutical students around the globe with avenues to broaden their knowledge base.
Canadian students can become involved with pharmacy education in various ways, whether it is by filling out a survey for the “Moving On Projects”, by preparing a poster for the poster exhibition held annually at the IPSF World Congress, by reading about IPSF initiatives in other countries or even by participating in an internship at the IPSF Headquarters in the Netherlands, or at the WHO internship! Please contact your local IPSF contact person with any questions you may have about pharmacy education through the IPSF.
Watch for more information about research projects and educational opportunities, as well as upcoming collaborations between the Pharmacy Education and Professional Development branches of the Federation at: http://www.ipsf.org/pharmacy_education.php
Student Exchange
Are you a student who wants to travel the world and meet new people?
OR
Are you a pharmacist practicing in Canada who is looking to add some international spice to your dispensary this summer?
No matter who you are-the Student Exchange Program is for you!
The Student Exchange Program is the largest project of the IPSF and allows hundreds of pharmacy students from around the world to travel and work in another part of the globe. The work is generally unpaid, but accommodations are frequently provided at a discounted rate, or even free of charge.
Canadian students wishing to travel abroad can contact their local IPSF Contact persons or the CAPSI Student Exchange Officer with any questions they may have and to find out their responsibilities. International students are asked to contact their Student Exchange Officers with any questions they may have.
**More information for Canadian Students who wish to go abroad will be available on this page shortly, for now, please contact the Contact persons directly.**
Pharmacists who would like to become involved with the CAPSI-IPSF Student Exchange Program are asked to click on the "Are you a Pharmacist?" link at the top of this page to find answers to many frequently asked questions, or may also contact the Student Exchange Officer or CAPSI-IPSF Liaison with any questions.
Information about the Student Exchange Program is available at the IPSF website: http://www.ipsf.org/website/html/SEP/main.html