From Learning to Leading: Your Foundation for Pharma Excellence
Walk in not always sure what people are talking about. Walk out able to keep up, with a map of where you're headed and a few people who'll help you get there.
Pharma Foundations Agenda
Why This Agenda is Built for You: Whether you're fresh out of school, moving into pharma from another industry, or new to manufacturing from another part of the business, your goal right now is to build a strong foundation fast. This agenda points you to the most followable session in each time block: the ones that build your vocabulary, show you how the industry actually works, and don't assume knowledge you haven't picked up yet. It also makes the most of the parts of the conference built for newcomers: the Emerging Leader Hackathon, the welcoming WIP workshop, and the networking events where everyone's name tag is on and conversations start easily.
Your Monday Morning Impact: Return able to speak credibly about Annex 1, GMP facility design, risk-based control strategies, and Pharma 4.0, the vocabulary that makes you more useful on your team immediately. You'll have a map of the field and a sense of where you want to specialize, a few peer and mentor contacts, and a clear sense of what you now understand that you didn't before.
Is This You?
This agenda is built for you if you're a:
- Recent graduate or early-career engineer (Process Engineer I or II, Associate Engineer, junior Validation Engineer)
- QC or QA Analyst building your industry knowledge
- Career-changer moving into pharma from another industry (semiconductor, food, general manufacturing)
- Internal mover joining manufacturing from another function
- Professional in your first five years in pharma who wants to build fluency and a network
Already managing projects and teams? The Mid-Career Leaders Agenda is built for you.
What You'll Walk Away With
- The vocabulary to keep up: leave able to talk about Annex 1, GMP facility design, ATMPs, control strategies, and Pharma 4.0 in your next team meeting.
- A map of the field: which areas align with which career paths, so you can start choosing where to aim.
- Your first real network: three or more peer and mentor contacts, including people one step ahead who can model the path.
- A clear sense of your own progress: concrete proof of what you learned and how it makes you more capable.
New Here? Start With These
You don't have to figure out the program alone. Three events are designed to welcome newcomers, so start with them:
- The Emerging Leader Hackathon (if you're in it): an instant team of peers at your stage.
- The WIP Workshop, "The Future of Pharma": interactive, welcoming, and a mix of senior experts and emerging leaders in one room.
- The Sunday Social: the friendliest room of the week. Aim to meet three people. That's a win.
And don't skip the Expo Hall. Walking the floor and asking vendors what their technology does is one of the fastest ways to learn the landscape. Nobody expects you to buy anything.
SATURDAY SCHEDULE
| Time | Session | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 1300 – 1800 | Registration Open | Registration |
| TBD | RECOMMENDED: 2026 ISPE International Emerging Leader Hackathon Day 1 Built for you. Teams solve a real industry problem with coaches alongside. The best way to start your conference with a ready-made network of peers at your stage. | Special Event |
SUNDAY SCHEDULE
| Time | Session | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 0800 – 1300 | RECOMMENDED: 2026 ISPE International Emerging Leader Hackathon Day 2 Present your team's solution to the judges. The single best way to start your conference with a ready-made network of peers at your stage. | Special Event |
| 1300 – 1600 | RECOMMENDED: The Future of Pharma: Agility, Growth & Continuous Improvement (WIP Workshop) Former FDA regulators, industry leaders, and emerging leaders in one interactive room, with a hands-on breakout. Welcoming by design, and you will leave with practical strategies and a handful of new contacts. | Workshop |
| 1600 – 1800 | Sunday Social The friendliest room of the week. Everyone is fresh, name tags are on, and conversations start easily. Aim to meet three people, that is a win. | Networking |
| 1900 – 2230 | 2026 ISPE FOYA Banquet & Awards Celebration Please note that separate registration is required. See what great looks like in pharma facilities, an inspiring picture of where the work can lead. | Special Event |
MONDAY SCHEDULE
| Time | Session | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 0700 – 0800 | Continental Breakfast | Meal |
| 0800 – 0930 | Opening General Sessions
Your orientation to the whole industry in 90 minutes: who leads it, where it is going, and through the Patient Speaker, why it matters. Do not miss this; it is the frame everything else hangs on. | General Session |
| 0930 – 1030 | Networking Break in Expo Hall Your first walk through the expo. Treat it as a free education. Ask vendors what their technology does; you will learn the landscape fast. | Networking |
| 1030 – 1100 | RECOMMENDED: Ambition Zero Carbon at an AstraZeneca Biologics Flagship A clear, story-driven case: how one site cut emissions 98% over a decade. Accessible and concrete, the most followable session in this block for your level. | Systems That Deliver Reliably |
| 1130 – 1200 | RECOMMENDED: Successful Business Cases for Sustainability Initiatives Learn how the industry justifies projects: lifecycle cost, risk, stakeholder buy-in. Understanding how decisions get made and funded is one of the most useful things you can pick up early. | Systems That Deliver Reliably |
| 1200 – 1330 | Networking Lunch in Expo Hall Find someone a few years ahead of you and ask how they got there. Mentorship often starts at a lunch table. | Meal/Networking |
| 1330 – 1400 | RECOMMENDED: Sustainability Modeling Through EcoDesign (GSK) A clear walkthrough of how a major company thinks about a product's whole lifecycle. A good vocabulary-builder; you will start recognizing terms like bioprocess intensification and continuous bioprocessing. | Systems That Deliver Reliably |
| 1430 – 1500 | RECOMMENDED: From Planning to Patients: Lilly's QC Lab Model A relatable look at how modern labs are designed: automation, AI, and keeping humans central. Concrete enough to picture, broad enough to learn from. | Systems That Deliver Reliably |
| 1500 – 1600 | Networking Break in Expo Hall Revisit one vendor whose technology confused you and ask them to explain it again. Repetition is how the landscape clicks into place. | Networking |
| 1600 – 1630 | RECOMMENDED: Identifying Water Sustainability Opportunities (Fluor, 3R strategy) One of the most teachable sessions of the day: a simple Reduce, Reuse, Recycle framework, taught by named engineers. You will leave able to explain it to someone else, which is when you know you have learned it. | Systems That Deliver Reliably |
| 1630 – 1700 | RECOMMENDED: Scaling PRINT® for Treprostinil (Liquidia) The story of how a technology became an FDA-approved drug in 2025. Inspiring and clarifying; it connects the dots from idea to patient, which is the whole point of what we all do. | From Breakthrough to Bedside |
| 1745 – 1915 | Welcome Reception in Expo Hall Wind down and consolidate. Find the people you met earlier and turn a hello into a real conversation. | Networking |
TUESDAY SCHEDULE
| Time | Session | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 0700 – 0800 | Continental Breakfast | Meal |
| 0800 – 0930 | Morning General Sessions
Hear how a senior industry leader frames where pharma is heading. You do not need to follow every detail; absorb the themes and the language, that is how fluency builds. | General Session |
| 0930 – 1030 | Networking Break in Expo Hall | Networking |
| 1030 – 1100 | RECOMMENDED: Automated ATMP Manufacturing, Consistency & Quality A clear intro to how automation makes advanced-therapy manufacturing more consistent, and to ATMPs themselves, one of the most important areas to understand in modern pharma. | From Breakthrough to Bedside |
| 1100 – 1130 | RECOMMENDED: Risk Based Control Strategies A foundational concept explained through real examples: how the industry decides what to control and why. Even the vocabulary here (control strategy, CQA, post-approval change) is worth the seat. | From Breakthrough to Bedside |
| 1200 – 1415 | Membership Meeting and Awards Lunch - Open to All Attendees See the whole ISPE community in one room and understand the society you are now part of. A relaxed, welcoming lunch, and a good place to keep building your contact list. | Meal/Awards |
| 1415 – 1545 | Dessert Reception in the Expo Hall Last chance on the expo floor (closes 1530). Thank the vendors who took time to teach you; those are contacts worth keeping. | Networking |
| 1630 – 1715 | RECOMMENDED: AI Transformation Starts with People A clear, non-technical look at how AI is reshaping pharma manufacturing and the new skills and roles emerging because of it, helping you understand where the industry is headed and where you might fit in | People, Capability & Workforce |
| 1900 – 2300 | Tuesday Night Celebration at Topgolf National Harbor Included with the In-Person All Access Pass, the add-on fee for the Tuesday Night Celebration is $225 for all other registration passes. No golf skills required; it is about fun and connection. The relaxed setting makes it the easiest place all week to talk to people you would be nervous to approach in a session. | Special Event |
WEDNESDAY SCHEDULE
| Time | Session | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 0800 – 0900 | Continental Breakfast | Meal |
| 0900 – 1215 | Closing General Sessions
Regulators shape everything in pharma, so hearing them directly is foundational literacy. It may be advanced in spots, and that is fine. Listen for the themes; you are building the map, not memorizing it. You made it through your first Annual Meeting; take the contacts, the vocabulary, and the map of the field home. | General Session |