Emerging Leaders Editorial: Times of Transition

Over the last year, we have been getting used to a variety of ways of getting back to “normal” and what they look like, though in some ways we may be forever changed. Our students have had a mixed bag of experiences. Online exams might be easier for some classes, but how does an online laboratory for engineering or science compare to the hands-on experience?

With 2,279 student members in 2022 and 667 recent graduates, there may be an unknown gap to fill with experience and team interaction. The workforce gap will initially be the responsibility of managers and mentors: they must pay attention to the needs of those they shepherd into the future and help build a bridge so those future industry leaders can get to the knowledge they need. The Emerging Leaders (EL) Community of Practice (CoP) will also be here to help with the identified knowledge gaps with tools, sessions, and reengagement for recent graduates. Those graduating need to keep eyes and ears open and ask lots of questions. I have learned a lot just by absorbing information from the environment around me.

Global Support

As an international organization, ISPE tries to support all corners of the globe, although there are still improvements to be made. Emerging leaders are in every region, with most of our Chapters and Affiliates having student members. Historically, many Emerging leaders have been active in the Americas (North America and South America) and in the European Union (EU). Both regions have formal ISPE Emerging Leaders leadership, and starting this year, we have official regional leadership for our Emerging Leaders groups in Asia Pacific (APAC). Welcome and thank you to those Emerging Leaders leaders who are stepping up: Jaywant Pawar, Wong Jianwei, Raine Fernandez, and Onwara Wongwatcharamongkol! I want to bring special recognition to Canada, as Emerging leaders there have been more active and stronger in the last couple of years. Nice job, Diego Legrand and Amanat Kaur! In North America and South America, there is continued growth and reinvention with the Annual Meeting Hackathon, initiatives to connect Chapter and Affiliate Emerging Leaders leaders, and new programs to reach future members. Our EU Emerging Leaders group continues to be a source of inspiration, with the in-person Hackathon at the ISPE Europe Annual Conference in Madrid, Future Leaders Day, and more to come. Great energy leading the charge, Emer Somers and Robin Schiemer!

As an industry, we are ever evolving, improving, and innovating. These are all helped along by our continued collaboration.

Collaboration Continues

As an industry, we are ever evolving, improving, and innovating. These are all helped along by our continued collaboration. With the local, regional, and international Hackathons, best practices are shared to better serve the coaches and participants in ones that follow. The latest Hackathon took place at the ISPE 2022 Annual Meeting & Expo in Orlando, Florida, on 29 October. We also have global initiatives like those to get more Emerging Leaders representatives writing articles for Pharmaceutical Engineering®.

Our younger members are the future of our industry, so we need to support and start listening to them now to help shape the future for the better. I have been honored over the last year to serve as the International Emerging Leaders Chair and help push some of these ideas along. I look forward to what we will accomplish in the next year with Zen-Zen Yen from the D/A/CH Affiliate as our Emerging Leaders chair for 2022–2023.