APRO RWG

Chairperson : aprochair@gmail.com Secretary : apro@ipsf.org Regional Project Officer : aprorpo@gmail.com Regional Relations Officer : aprorro@gmail.com Internal Coordinator & Communication Officer : aproicco@gmail.com Regional Student Exchange Officer : ipsf.aprosep@gmail.com

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APRO RWG Melissa Hong—Chairperson Greetings from the Asia Pacific Regional Office, Regional Working Group (APRO-RWG) of the International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation (IPSF). My name is Melissa Hong from Malaysia. My first experience with IPSF was back in 2008 where I attended the 7th Asia Pacific Pharmaceutical Symposium (APPS) in Khonkean, Thailand. Since then I have been actively promoting IPSF back in my home country and I decided to bring it up a notch by getting involve in the Asia Pacific Regional Office of IPSF the following year. It has been a wonderful journey where many friendships and inspirations were made. I look forward to working with a very passionate team which has shown great enthusiasm in serving and working for IPSF. In the upcoming year, the office will continue to carry out more activities and we hope to extend the IPSF hand of friendship to non-member coun-tries whilst improving our relationship with our beloved members. Viva la Pharmacie!

Geoffrey Chai—Secretary G’day everyone! My name’s Geoffrey Chai and I am a 4

th year phar-

macy student studying at the University of Sydney, Australia. The 9th

APPS held in Seoul, South Korea was my first APPS. Having met everyone at this event and being fascinated with the structures of IPSF and APRO, I went on to become the Secretary of APRO. Throughout my term I hope to work diligently with my team to ensure APRO runs smoothly. I will mostly be working the behind-the-scenes so you will rarely see my emails. But that shouldn’t stop you from contacting me since I’ll be more than happy to share what I know. Hope to see you all at the 10th APPS in Yogyakarta, Indonesia next year!

Kate Jung A Kim— Regional Relations Officer Hello everyone! My name is Kate Jung-A Kim (call me Kate) from Korea. I am currently a registered pharmacist in New Zealand but I am planning to also register in Korea. I was lucky enough to attend the 9

th

APPS and the Leaders-In-Training (LIT) in Seoul, Korea this year as well as becoming an individual member of IPSF. My hobbies are swimming, travelling and shopping. I love interacting with people and I am grateful that I was elected as the Regional Relations Officer (RRO) of APRO. I believe I am ambitious and motivated, which are qualities that have pushed me forward and to strive for excellence in whatever I do. I hope this year will be an exciting year for APRO, but on my part I will be putting in 100% of my efforts to ensure APRO is a successful. I look forward to working with non-member countries and getting them to join the IPSF family!

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APRO RWG

Alexander Stefan —Internal Coordinator & Communication Officer Hi everyone! My name is Alexander Stefan but you can call me Alex or Stefan for short. I am currently a 4th year student of the Clinical & Community Pharmacy, Institute of Technology Bandung, Indonesia. Where I first met APRO was in 2008 when I attended the 7

th APPS in

Thailand. Since 2008, I have served as a subcommittee member. This year I was fortunate enough to attend LIT and APPS in Korea where I got elected as the new Internal Communications and Co-ordinations Officer (ICCO) of APRO. My hobbies are photography, travelling, and playing musical instruments. I decided to run for ICCO because I wanted a position, which combines my artistic nature with the IPSF spirit. I believe that with hard work, creativity and the involvement of all APRO members, we could all help IPSF move into an even brighter future. If you have any questions or comments, please forward them to my email address. Also feel free to contact me through Facebook. See you guys at the next APPS!

Chrysna Winandha—Regional Project Officer My name’s Chrysna Winandha from Indonesia. I am a 4th year pharmacy student at the University of Indonesia. The first APPS I attended was the 7

th APPS in Thailand. And since then I have grown

to love IPSF more over the last 2 years. Having attended one IPSF Congress, one WHSS and three APPS I have made many friendships and have many fond memories from each event. The IPSF spirit is an infectious one as it has urged me to become more involved within the IPSF community. It is an honour to be elected as the Regional Project Officer (RPO). The main goal I have for my term is to promote and raise awareness of the pharmacy profession through the Pharmacy Profession Awareness Campaign (PPAC), but in addition to this I hope to successfully hold IPSF activities. Fortunately, I am not alone in this commitment as I have a wonderful APRO-RWG team, an amazing subcommittee and a big family of CPs to support me. I hope to see you all at the next APPS in Yogyakarta, Indonesia and IPSF Congress in Hat Yai, Thailand!

Rizki Tsari Andriani—Regional Student Exchange Officer Hello Everyone! My name's Rizki Tsari Andriani. But you can call me Kiki for short. I'm a 4th year student at the Bandung Institute of Technology, Indonesia. I was elected as the Regional Student Exchange Officer (RSEO) of APRO at the 9th APPS Seoul, South Korea. Through a student exchange I believe that we are able to learn a variety of things. Not only are we comparing the differences between pharmacies but we are able to experience a country’s culture. Ultimately though, each one of us that goes on an exchange will learn something unique that will be cherished for the rest of our lives, so it is my pleasure to help everyone in the Asia Pacific go on a student exchange. I want you all to experience SEP at least once in your life. Let’s go on an exchange. Viva SEP, Viva APRO, Viva IPSF, Viva la Pharmacie

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APRO RWG Astrid Ayu Maruti–Chairperson of 10

th APPS 2011

Hi all! I’m Astrid, a 4th year Pharmacy Student studying at Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia. My first APPS was the 7

th APPS in Khonkaen,

Thailand. The experience I received is something I still treasure. I was able to meet pharmacy students from all over Asia Pacific region. I was able to exchange pharmacy related information with each country through symposiums and workshops, as well as enjoy parties and a tour around the city, which I’ve never visited before. From there, came the idea of bringing the symposium to my country and university. The 8

th APPS Malaysia was where this came true. Now my

committee and I are putting things together for the 10th

APPS 2011 at UGM, Yogyakarta. We hope to provide a lifetime of experience for the participants. I can guarantee it will be an event that you will regret if you miss. Wish to see you next year in Yogyakarta!

For further information : appsyogyakarta2011@gmail.com

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http://apps2011-indonesia.com/

9th

APPS Korea Experiencing the 9th Asia-Pacific Pharmaceutical Symposium , Seoul—South Korea

Kate (Jung A) Kim Korean National Association Pharmaceutical Students (KNAPS) ,South Korea The 9th Asia-Pacific Pharmaceutical Symposium (APPS) was held in Seoul Korea and I felt this was a great opportunity for me to volunteer and help with organizing an international event. As I love interacting with people, I felt it would be a great opportunity for me to make new friends. Surprisingly, I started off as a helper of the APPS committee, but ended up becoming the Regional Relation Officer (RRO) for 2010-11 of IPSF. I would like to share this wonderful experience and my thoughts on the 9

th APPS.

The 9th

Asia-Pacific Pharmaceutical Symposium Straight after LIT it was when the actual APPS started! Since I attend the APPS as a helper (not as a participant) I was more involved in the organizational aspect such as being in charge of the Welcome Party, organizing Auction Night and helping out the reception committee (RCs). At times I found it difficult working with such a large group as there was many ideas that were conflicting. However, the skills that I had learnt from LIT were helpful in resolving these problems and as a result we were able to achieve our goals efficiently. Even though there were hard times, APPS was not all about work. There were nights where we had fun such as the international, auction and gala night. Auction

night was where I had the most fun. During these social events I managed to meet new friends and was able learn about their cultures. I felt that member countries of IPSF were very fortunate in having the wonderful opportunity to attend such an event during their student life. As such this became the main reason for me to join IPSF as an individual member and to undergo an election for Regional Relation Officer (RRO) of APRO. I wanted the non-member countries to be part of the IPSF community so that the students were not missing out on the fun as well as the educational sessions. I was lucky to get elected as the RRO of 2010-11, but let me tell you that LIT and the 9th APPS 2010 has been amazing. I’m looking forward to attending the 10th APPS in Indonesia.

Leaders in training (LIT) This year’s LIT was held in Bang Hwa for 4 days with various activities and workshops that focused around the topic of ‘what it takes to become a good leader’. Eleven students from five different countries were involved in LIT. Throughout these workshops and activities I learnt how a team functions as well as the important factors that are required to become a good leader. From this it inspired me to join the IPSF as an individual member. Although LIT started off with eleven strangers, these strangers ended up becoming my friends who I know will stay with me for life.

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9th

APPS Korea

When it became known to me that I was the only Indian pharmaceutical student attending the 9

th APPS I was

overjoyed and scared about the idea. However, the prospect of attending an international event was a golden opportunity for me to expand my circle of friends. Throughout the process of filling out forms, processing my visa, arriving in Seoul, attending the symposiums and meetings were made easy by the very supportive APPS Reception Committee. From day one I was marked as an official delegate and hosted the Indian national flag at the opening ceremony. I felt so proud and honoured amongst other nations.

Following the opening ceremony the week was packed with meetings, conferences, presentations and elections. I participated in a pharmacy exhibition as well as presented a video which generated positive feedback. I was given the chance to attend a tour where I was taken around by the volunteers to explore the traditional villages which represented the cultures and the heritage of Korea. A lot of traditional food had made its mark on my mind and I will forever remember them. I will never forget about Kim-chi (Korean appetizer), Soju and dong-dong (Korean drinks). I enjoyed the night life of Korea where I explored the lively streets and clubs; Mass Club will always remain in my memories. And, last but not the least I would like to mention the tranquility of the North Side of the River, which took me to a deep and peaceful mind. The last two days were kept for the farewell where a lot of warm wishes, gifts and contacts were exchanged for future relations. When the time for departure had arrived I was touched by the respect, care and support of APRO. I would like to give a special mention to Connie Kim who had shown me around the whole time I was in Korea. A beautiful memory is what I posses now about the Koreans and the country. I definitely wish to go there again, if I was given another chance.

Jasmit Singh Suri Indian Pharmaceutical Association-Student Forum

(IPA-SF), India

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IPSF CONGRESS

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APRO Focus

APRO Focus Project Pharmacy Profession Awareness Campaign (PPAC):

Empowering Our Profession by Educating the Public

Till today, it is a common to hear someone ask: what does a pharmacist do? What is the role of a pharmacist? Or simply so you guys are the ones that count pills and gives me my medicines at the counters. The lack of awareness of the pharmacy profession is prevalent throughout society. Although important to patient healthcare, the pharma-cy profession has not been able to communicate effectively to the public about the roles, the scope and the importance of the profession. Pharmacy students are the pharmacists of tomorrow. They will be leading the profes-sion in the near future and is a key player in increasing awareness and changing the attitudes facing profession. The APRO of IPSF understands the need for students to create this awareness on our profession to the public. Due to the need for this, APRO-IPSF has decided along with our members to make ― PPAC: Empowering the Profes-sion by Educating the Public, this year’s APRO project. The office hopes to provide as much support to our members to carry out this project in their home countries. We want students to make our mark as pharmacist in our so-ciety. With full support we sincerely hope that this year’s APRO project will be benefi-cial not only to our members but further help the society understand the role and im-portance of our profession.

Newsletter designed by

Alexander Stefan Internal Coordinator and Communication

Officer of APRO 2010-2011

Feel free to comment at aproicco@gmail.com

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