Eligibility & Benefits

Eligibility

As a student member of ISPE, you are automatically a member of SISPE.

Benefits

In addition to all the benefits afforded to regular ISPE members, the benefits of SISPE membership include:

1. Receiving important communications
   The Student Council has 5 channels to communicate with SISPE members: the ISPE Exchange student community (most detailed), chapter emails, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Through these media, we inform the student body of student events and activities, employment opportunities, and provide students with a forum to discuss methodological issues or hot topics in pharmacoepidemiology.
2. The opportunity to participate in online journal clubs/seminars
   The ISPE Student Council hosts periodic online seminars. Members of SISPE are invited to join the journal club/seminar where students have the opportunity to hear and ask questions of leaders in the field of pharmacoepidemiology on methodological issues and hot topics in the field.
3. An invitation to all student activities held at the ISPE-sponsored meetings
   The ISPE Student Council organizes a number of student activities at ISPE-sponsored meetings such as the student skills workshops, the student council meetings, and ISPE student socials, to name a few. In the past, the student skills workshop has featured a panel of experts in pharmacoepidemiology discussing a wide range of topics from detailing their own personal career paths to offering advice on how land your dream job after graduation. During the annual student council meeting, issues to be addressed by the student body are discussed and a new committee members are elected. The ISPE student socials, also organized by the ISPE Student Council, are a great opportunity to informally meet your peers in a relaxed setting. Student events at each conference are listed in the conference program. This helps students identify the events and plan accordingly.
4. The opportunity to network with other students in pharmacoepidemiology on an international scale.
   In certain circumstances, who you know can be as, or even more, important than what you know. Being a member of SISPE presents you with the opportunity to network with other pharmacoepidemiologists who share your interests and concerns and may open employment opportunities, help you find an outside reader for your dissertation, and/or make it possible for you to discuss pharmacoepidemiologic problems with a leader in the field.
5. Access to reduced conference rates
   Conference rates are lower for student members of ISPE than for other members. For instance, the on-site conference registration fee for in 2022 was $575 for student non-ISPE members whereas it was $545 for ISPE student members. Similarly, the on-site registration fee for the 2022 ISPE conference was significantly higher for ISPE members from industry ($1,865) and academia or government ($1,835). You can do the math, being a member of SISPE is economically sound!
6. Scholarship Eligibility
   As a member of SISPE, you are also eligible to apply for a scholarship to cover some of the costs associated with attending the annual ISPE conference. In the past, financial assistance has been provided to scholarship recipients in the form of waived conference and ISPE course fees, free one-year ISPE membership, as well as partial reimbursement for travel, lodging, and other expenses. Although non-students may apply for a scholarship, student status is taken into consideration!
7. Opportunities to get involved
   Student members have many opportunities to get involved in ISPE. Student participation is encouraged through attendance at ISPE student council meetings, through the creation of ISPE student chapters, through organizing ISPE chapter events, or by running for an executive position in the ISPE Student Council.
8. Voting privileges
   As a member of SISPE you have voting rights when it comes to electing the chair and co-chair of the ISPE student council. The positions of chair and co-chair run for a two-year term. At least one month before the annual ICPE meeting, an announcement is sent out to the student body asking persons who are interested in becoming chair or co-chair to submit a short statement of interest which is then circulated to the student body. The formal election is held during the student council meeting with all ISPE student members present at the meeting having a right to vote. Ideally, the chair should be from North America if the next annual meeting will on this continent and the co-chair should be from Europe, and vice-versa.
9. You can list your ISPE membership in the Professional Societies section on your CV
   You should not underestimate the role that involvement in professional societies play when applying for scholarships, submitting grant applications, or applying for jobs.