6th Asia Pacific Pharmaceutical Symposium - Kathmandu, Nepal
The Sixth Asia Pacific Pharmaceutical Symposium was held in Kathmandu, Nepal, during July 2007. The theme for the event was “Current Pharmaceutical Practices and its Future Perspectives”. In this Congress, a total of 7 symposiums, 2 workshops and 2 regional meetings were conducted.

The Official Delegates from Singapore, Australia, India, Thailand, Nepal and Indonesia.

Through the symposiums, delegates from the regions were exposed to a variety of interesting topics such as Traditional Herbs in Anti-Diabetic Therapy and Nanotechnology for Drug Delivery.
During the workshops, we had the opportunity to interact with one another as well as to discuss about issues pertinent to the region. An example would be the discussion regarding Compulsory Licensing in Thailand which was held in one of the workshops. Furthermore, during the regional meetings, delegates took the chance to share ideas about the activities conducted by our local student-run pharmaceutical societies or clubs so as to bring back fresh new ideas to our respective schools. 
Several social activities like Traditional Night and Gala Night were also organized to introduce us to the Nepalese cultures and enable us to interact with our friends from the region. Bonds were forged and friendships were built. 

The Official Delegates from Singapore, Australia, India, Thailand, Nepal and Indonesia.
We took part in the Poster Exhibition and the theme was “Role of a Pharmacist in your Local healthcare Industry”.

The Singapore Delegates at the Gala Night.

53rd International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation (IPSF) Congress – Taipei, Taiwan
The 53rd International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation (IPSF) Congress was held in Taipei, Taiwan from the 6th – 16th August 2007. There were about a total of 17 different workshops and a 2-day Scientific and IPSF Education Symposium conducted during the Congress.

Regional workshops were conducted to exchange ideas and discuss ways to promote IPSF and strengthen the network and collaboration in each region. Some other workshops we attended covered interesting topics such as Healthy Living and Diabetes, HIV/AIDS Campaign, and Patient Counselling.

The Scientific and Education symposiums were themed “Financing in Healthcare” and “Pharmacoeconomics” respectively. There were plenary lectures and workshops held during these symposiums to explore various concepts and discuss practical examples. We also presented a poster themed “Healthcare Financing in Singapore” at the Poster Exhibition.

Poster presentation at the Poster Exhibition

During break time...

Other programmes included the General Assembly Meetings and a Patient Counselling Event, as well as social activities such as Traditional Night and Gala Night that encouraged interaction among all the participants at the Congress. We also contributed items for the Development Fund (DF) Auction Night and presented a song item during International Night.

Something serious....at one of the workshops.

Something less serious...Gala night at The Grand Hotel

Both the Congresses have indeed been an eye-opening, memorable and enriching experience for us. Many ideas were exchanged, and we also gained new insights and forged many friendships with pharmacy students from many different parts of the world.

Reported by:
Lauw Xiu Ting & Ng Xinyi
NUS Pharmaceutical Society

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