The third ISPE Future Leaders Days returned this year on the 13^th and 14^th of October and this year the event was organised by a number of ISPE Emerging Leaders Affiliates from across Europe (ISPE D/A/CH, ISPE Ireland and ISPE Spain). The 2021 ISPE Future Leaders event was the first fully virtual event and was a huge success with over 100 participants across Europe and the US.

A versatile program brought together participants from all across the globe

The 2021 ISPE Future Leaders Days was made up of three tracks (Career Development, Innovation and Technology, and Leadership) and the overall theme of the event was Equality, Leadership and Innovation in Biopharma. The virtual conference had inspiring keynote speeches from Eamon Judge, Alice Redmond, Joyce Hansen and Jörg Zimmermann. The individual tracks were filled with fantastic talks from speakers located all across the globe, including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Ireland, US, Denmark, The Netherlands and France.

Keeping an open mindset in times of constantly changing environments

All speakers provided insightful information and told interesting stories, creating an informal atmosphere and a unique look behind the curtain of our industry. To get the participants into direct contact with presented topics, three interactive workshops were offered, focusing on: (i) Data science for process characterisation, (ii) Building your career on your strength and (iii) Leading through change.

The general theme running through the talks and workshops could be summarised as follows:

• The importance of self-empowerment and continuous personal skill development to have a successful career in the biopharma industry
• The biopharma industry is becoming more and more digital and we need to make sure that we are adapting to these changes, or else we will be left behind
• Communication, empathy, change management skills and a clear direction are some of the key traits for successful leaders in the biopharma industry

The ISPE Future Leaders Days organising committee are already thinking about the 2022 event and we are hoping to have a hybrid event with both in-person and virtual attendees and speakers. The ISPE Future Leaders Day 2021 committee would like to extend their sincerest thanks to all the event attendees and speakers and also to the ISPE affiliates involved in the organisation of the event. We are all excited for the 2022 event already, and planning will begin early in 2022 – so stay tuned!