Hey! My name is Daniela and I am going into my 4th and final year of studying Pharmacy at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in Norwich, UK. I moved to the UK three years ago for university and my family stayed back home in Bulgaria. During the past three years I was able to meet many friendly and open-minded people who were passionate about pharmacy both in and out of university. Those people inspired me to take more chances and to make the most out of the opportunities that were presented to me, one of those being to get involved with the European Pharmaceutical Students Association (EPSA).

What is my role in the EPSA Team?

I was introduced to EPSA in my 1st year of university and, frankly, I had no idea what I was signing up to when I registered for my first ever EPSA event in 2017 (EPSA Summer University in Covilha, Portugal). However, I had such a positive experience that as soon as the event ended, I was looking into signing up for the next one. Since then EPSA has made a massive impact on my life and now I hope to be able to do the same for fellow and future pharmaceutical students.

The main reason why I applied for a position in the EPSA Team was because I wanted to help pharmaceutical students across Europe to voice their opinions about the issues that they are facing. The position I hold is called Policy Affairs Coordinator and it’s the most recent position to be added to the EPSA Team. As a fairly new position, it’s still under development but my tasks mainly relate to the advocacy work of EPSA. For example, one of my main tasks includes conducting and analysing surveys. Currently, there is an ongoing survey on Interprofessional Education (IPE) in collaboration with EHSAS (European Healthcare Students’ Associations Summit).

Apart from that, I also work closely with Tilen Kozole, Vice President of European Affairs, on different advocacy projects such as Advocacy Toolkit, Policy Newsletter and many more. A very important aspect of my position is teamwork, both within the department (European Affairs Department) and within the EPSA Team as a whole. The mandate only started a few ago but the dynamics so far are amazing and I cannot wait to see what the remaining of this year will bring!

What are my goals for this year?

In terms of EPSA, I aim to deliver all the projects that we have planned and I look forward to working with so many passionate and inspiring people. I am also very excited to work with other healthcare students and collaborate with different organisations on various projects. I would also love to get more BPSA members involved with EPSA this year. From my experience, everyone who has attended at least one event comes back for another one. EPSA is so diverse and there are endless opportunities for each person to get involved. All you need to do is take a chance and give it a go J

How can BPSA members get involved?

There are many ways in which you can get involved and become part of the EPSA family! Here are only a few, visit EPSA's website to find out the full scope of opportunities.

Attend the EPSA Events! EPSA organises four main events every year – Annual Congress, Autumn Assembly, Annual Reception and Summer University. The next event is the Autumn Assembly which will take place in Croatia between the 29th of October and 3rd of November. Registrations are still open, so sign up now! Find more and register here.

Take part in EPSAS’s exchange programmes! You can take part in a Twinnet Exchange or an IPM Placement.

Get involved with online EPSA Activities! There are many webinars, organised online, which you can attend them from the comfort of your own home.

Become an EPSA trainer! You can attend a week long activity which equips you with a wide range of soft skills and prepares you to become an EPSA Trainer. In the role of a trainer you will be attending EPSA Events and will be delivering training to members on various topics in a fun and interactive way.

Take part in EPSA’s Science Day! Share your achievements in the scientific field and learn about the innovations and the exciting work carried out in other parts of Europe.

Follow us and stay engaged over social media!

If you have any questions or want to know more about EPSA, please drop me a message at policy@epsa-online.org