Mission statement Young Pharma Forum (YPF)

Mission
The aim of Young Pharma Forum (YPF) is to create a network for and represent PhD students, postdocs and assistant professors employed at Department of Pharmacy (IF) and Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology (ILF) or enrolled at DRA (hereinafter called members). We aim at considering ideas/input to various events put forward by members and help facilitate the realization of these. YPF’s mission is to engage its members in interdisciplinary and social activities to create strong social and professional networking opportunities nationally as well as internationally.

YPF hopes to build bridges within academia and between industry and academia. YPF wishes to help prepare young researchers to make knowledge-based career decisions, and to help build a stronger national network for young researchers within pharma.

YPF will through interdisciplinary and social events help its members to:

  • be inspired scientifically
  • learn transferrable skills
  • get more insight into the pharmaceutical- and biotech industry
  • increase their knowledge about life science innovation and entrepreneurship
  • get to know their fellow young pharma-researchers
  • establish communication with other YPF members and faculty members
  • build a strong professional and career-strengthening network

The organized events should contain scientific or career development activities either alone or combined with social/networking activities.

Events will be organized for members as a common group but can also be organized for a specific sub-group or on a specific topic.

Procedures for appointing new steering committee members

  • The YPF steering committee should preferably consist of a representative group of PhD students, postdocs, and assistant professors from IF, ILF and DRA, and broadly represents pharmaceutical research areas.
  • The optimal number is 6 members (e.g., 2 PhDs and 1 postdoc from IF, and 2 PhDs and 1 postdoc from ILF, with preferably 1/3 or more from DRA).
  • The Head of DRA will each year receive and review motivational applications from potential new members and set the team according to the principles outlined above.
  • Each steering committee member is member for one year from 1 January to 31 December.
  • The steering committee can appoint sub-committees for specific events. 

Budget
DRA                    DKK/year          25,000

The steering committee will meet annually with the Head of DRA to discuss activities of the previous year (including approximate number of participants for each activity) and plans for the forthcoming year and use this as a basis for adjusting the annual budget.

Affiliation with DRA

  • YPF will run under the auspices of DRA and be hosted on a sub-webpage at dra.ku.dk.
  • YPF can use the DRA Secretariat to help with organization of events.
  • YPF will report an overview of planned events to DRA for announcement on the DRA website calendar, and new types of initiatives will have to be pre-approved by the Head of DRA.
  • The steering committee will appoint a speaker at the DRA Summer School who will present an annual report of activities held the previous year and motivate PhD students to participate actively in future YPF activities.
  • The steering committee will appoint a speaker for 3-5 annual DRA Welcome Information meetings with recently affiliated PhD students.

Collaboration with other young researcher forums
YPF will collaborate with the AAPS at PharmaSchool and co-organize / co-fund some events with them.

YPF is encouraged to co-organize events and open some YPF events to the young researcher forums at other graduate programs at SUND including Molecular Mechanisms of Disease (MoMeD, hosted at BRIC) and In Vivo Pharmacology and Experimental Animals (IVP) (hosted at SUND Frederiksberg Campus) through the programme collaboration, DIM.

It is the aim to establish collaborations and co-organize events with young researcher forums at the ULLA partners such as the biennial ULLA Workshops.