The Croatian Pharmacy and Medical Biochemistry Students’ Association (or CPSA) is an independent nonprofit association. It was founded in 1994 at the initiative of the Student Council of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry in Zagreb.
During its foundation, the aim of the association was to offer pharmacy and medical biochemistry students in Zagreb an organisation in which they could simply exchange ideas but in the following years CPSA grew bigger and expanded its field of work. In October 2014 the 1st CPSA Congress was organised to celebrate 20 years of CPSA’s activity. This event has since then remained the crowning event of each year for the associations’ members, offering the students of our faculty a unique opportunity to grow professionally as well as providing them a chance to better meet their colleagues and faculty members. In 2019 CPSA celebrated 25 years of its existence with the organisation of the European Pharmaceutical Students’ Association Autumn Assembly in Poreč, its largest project up to date which truly showcased what just a simple students’ association can accomplish.
CPSA is the only association representing pharmacy and medical biochemistry students in Croatia from two faculties – one in Zagreb and one in Split. The association numbers 220 members between both of its branches that both organise various projects with the aim of educating both students and the general population about various topics related to biomedicine through public campaigns, competitions and congresses. In 2018, Recipe, the association’s student magazine, launched its website and Facebook page which has attracted considerable attention in public media, further increasing the visibility of future pharmacists and medical biochemists in Croatia.
As an independent association CPSA actively cooperates with fellow student associations across Croatia and enjoys a healthy relationship with many pharmaceutical companies with the aim of realising as many successful projects and campaigns.
We are proud members of European (EPSA – European Pharmaceutical Students’ Association) and international organization (IPSF – International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation). Our members regularly participate in conferences that are yearly being held by these organizations. It is our membership in IPSF that allows us to participate in the Student Exchange Programme (SEP), one of our biggest projects. SEP entails an exchange of students and knowledge and allows for the students to do an internship in any country which is a member of IPSF.
