What is IPSF?
IPSF, the International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation, was founded in London in 1949, with the statutory aim of “studying and promoting the interests of pharmaceutical students and to encourage international co-operation among them”. At the time, eight countries formed the membership of this Federation, most of them coming from Western Europe. Fifty years have passed and today, IPSF has a solid membership of more than sixty organizations representing a total number of more than three hundred and fifty thousand (350,000) pharmacy students from the whole world.
For more information about IPSF and its activities, please visit http://www.ipsf.org.
What is SEP?
Student Exchange Programme (SEP) is one of the main activities in IPSF. It is a mobility programme that gives students from all over the world the opportunity to get to know pharmacy in a different country.
The member associations of IPSF organise the exchanges by finding host sites where the students are trained. The programme runs throughout the year, but the majority of the exchanges take place between May and September. The length is usually 1 to 3 months, and possible host sites include
- community pharmacies
- hospital pharmacies
- wholesale companies
- pharmaceutical industry
- schools of pharmacy
- government or private health agencies
The host may also provide room, board and/or pocket money in addition to the training site in order to help the student.
Who can participate?
Pharmacy students who belong to an IPSF member association can apply for SEP through their association. If your association is not a member of IPSF, you can apply for Individual Membership first and then apply as an Individiual Member. To apply for Individiual Membership, please contact the Chairperson of External Relations at external@ipsf.org.
What countries can I go on exchange to?
A list of all participating associations and countries are listed in the 'Associations' tab on the left-hand menu. You can view a lot of information about each association and also view evaluations posted by past SEP participants.
How do I sign up?
Just click on 'Apply for Student Exchange Programme' and follow the prompts to complete your registration. Make sure that you select the correct association, otherwise your registration may go astray. For Individual Members, please select 'Individual Members'. Once your registration is complete and confirmed by your SEO, you can then begin your application.
