News for AASP

The 7^th Asian Association of Schools of Pharmacy Conference 2015
GIS NTU Convention Centre, Taipei, Taiwan, 30 Oct – 2 Nov

The Asian Association of Schools of Pharmacy (AASP) has reached its 15^th year as a regional organization for pharmacy school educators. Its inception in 2000 in Thailand and registration in 2002 paved the way for closer cooperation, networking, and mutual learning among member countries. Since 2004, biennial conferences were held to showcase the advancement in the areas of pharmacy practice and education, pharmaceutics, and medicinal chemistry. With the introduction of Deans Forum in Indonesia in 2011, greater focus can be directed at academic and administrative issues and concerns confronting Deans, administrators, and faculty members. Now, AASP conducts these two major events in alternative years so as to continuously pursue its vision to be an influential organization for pharmacy education in the Asian region.

The 7^th AASP Conference with the theme “Transformative Pharmacy Education for Responsive Research and Practice” was held with a hectic 3-day program of lectures, discussion forums, posters and exhibits involving eminent speakers and participants from both academia and industry. Both poster and podium presentations of submitted research work from the region were discussed. Other highlights included a 1-day pre-conference forum and workshops focusing on the emerging trends in pharmacy education, where educators learned from experts and colleagues, particularly on teaching-learning strategies. This gathering offered a unique opportunity for interaction and networking amongst the participants from different pharmacy schools.

The 7^th AASP Conference was hosted by School of Pharmacy, National Taiwan University in Taipei under the leadership of Dean Jih-Hwa Guh. Taiwanese schools or colleges of pharmacy, namely, National Cheng Kung University, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei Medical University, Kaohsiung Medical University, China Medical University, Chia Nan University of Pharmacy and Science, Tajen University, and Ching Kang Foundation for Pharmacy Promotion, were also co-hosts.

Attendance at the conference was 376, with 186 from overseas (Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand, UK, Union of Comoros, USA and Vietnam).The conference venue had well-equipped auditoriums. The opening ceremony began with a yoyo performance by students from an elementary school. All the participants were provided with good food and entertainment, in particular during Welcome Party and Gala Dinner. There was a photographic review of all the events, activities and participants at the closing ceremony. This successful completion of the 7^th AASP Conference had certainly set a high standard for future AASP conferences. These photographs and detailed programs are available in the AASP website, www.aaspnet.org. We look forward to your attendance in our 2017 Conference.