Developing education and training
We are absolutely committed to providing inspiring education and training, and a key part of our mission is to ensure that research prowess and educational excellence are inextricably coupled and fuel each other. We are very proud of our graduates who work in diverse careers; a recent survey showed 22% in teaching or research, 6.5% in industry and 5% in policy/government, alongside those in primary clinical practice.
Undergraduate
The core teaching that the Department delivers covers years 4-6 of the standard undergraduate veterinary course. Our distinctive aim compared to other UK veterinary schools is to produce vets who have a particularly strong scientific training. To achieve this, a crucial part of our vision is to harness the full educational potential of talented researchers across the School. Alongside our particular focus on scientific training, there are important principles that we are committed to, which include; firstly, inspiring students to consider the full breadth of veterinary practice, especially in national and regional shortage disciplines (eg DEFRA & APHA). Secondly, ensuring that the vets we produce have outstanding communication skills and are equipped to work well as members of multi-professional teams. Thirdly, to create a clearly identified core-curriculum with expanded opportunities for student selection, including research and clinical project work
The Veterinary Science Tripos (VetST): From 2018/19 the MedST and VetST divided from the old MVST course. This provides an opportunity to work closely with the School of Biological Sciences to develop years 1-3 for veterinary students and to integrate the two parts of the course throughout the six years of study by means of a functioning spiral curriculum running through all six years of the veterinary education programme. In our contributions to the MVMCR review we are seeking to link more explicitly basic sciences with clinical settings for example veterinary anatomy to clinical radiology.
Cambridge integrates a unique third year into the veterinary course where students specialise in one of the many opportunities provided by the wider university, for example in science, conservation, policy or management. Our graduates are, therefore, fully trained veterinarians ideally placed for diverse careers not only in general, referral or academic clinical practice, but also in conservation, government or industry.
Clinical & Professional Phases
A major review of the Final Veterinary Examination curriculum & assessments was initiated in 2017 and completed in 2019. The proposal was accepted by the Faculty Board of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinary Education Committee and the General Board for Education. The new format of Final Veterinary Examinations commenced in Michaelmas 2021 and a new 4th and 5th year curriculum introduced, with the curriculum and assessments fully aligned.
Postgraduate
The Department of Veterinary Medicine delivers interdisciplinary research in One Health, combining its Faculty’s expertise in veterinary, medical, biological, computational and social sciences with local and international collaborative networks across the academic, charitable, farming and pharmaceutical sectors. This stimulating scientific environment provides domestic and overseas students with diverse opportunities for postgraduate research training leading to PhD, MPhil and VetMD degrees. We typically admit 10-15 new postgraduate students per academic year, mostly into our PhD programme. Around 20-25% of our intake have veterinary qualifications, often from overseas; many of them choose non-clinical research projects, opting instead to gain expertise in microbiology, immunology, genetics, bioinformatics or public health. Partly reflecting historical trends in the undergraduate population in veterinary medicine and life sciences, our current postgraduate population is made up of around two thirds of female students, while British minority ethnic students are under-represented, both at the application and matriculation stages. While the small size of our cohorts limits our capacity for action, we are actively engaging with School and University-wide initiatives for Widening Participation.
Commensurate with our relatively small cohort sizes, the Department’s Postgraduate Education (PGE) operations are managed on a part-time basis by two members of staff: a Director of PGE, currently Dr Olivier Restif (University Associate Professor) and PGE administrator Mrs Fiona Roby. They are supported by a PG Committee with representatives from supervisors, students and postdocs, with a particular role to discuss strategic developments.
Funding sources for postgraduate students are split among Cambridge scholarships, charitable grants, industry partnerships, and MRC/BBSRC DTP, while a few students are self-funded through existing employment as Research Assistants. Our previous Director of Postgraduate Education was actively involved in the running of the BBSRC DTP and its latest successful bid for renewal. Currently our visibility to DTP students is not optimal probably because of the relatively small number of projects we can offer (compared with larger Departments within the School of Biological Sciences who are more fully aligned with the BBSRC’s remit) and our Department’s name (which does not reflect the richness of biological and biomedical research on offer). To address these issues, we have increased our engagement with SBS, in particular through active contributions to its strategic research themes, undergraduate teaching and outreach activities.
Although the Department of Veterinary Medicine is part of SBS, our postgraduate students are connected to the School of Clinical Medicine (SCM) through a shared Degree Committee (which oversees our MPhil and PhD courses), and the two Schools run the Postgraduate School of Life Sciences together (which oversees training and student life). This complex administrative structure can make it difficult for students and faculty alike to access the right information or support, although recent initiatives from SBS have begun providing more clarity.
We have a number of strategic challenges particularly increasing and diversifying postgraduate applications to the Department, both directly or through the Doctoral Training Plans. This is constantly under review as part of developing the Department’s wider strategic goals. The incentive for UK veterinary graduates to combine research with clinical work is low at the moment especially as, similarly for medical clinicians, there are a few clinician scientist PhD studentships currently available, limiting our ability to recruit these students. There is a crucial need for clinician scientist veterinarians to take leadership roles in pressing One health issues, from managing pandemic risks to global food security and climate change resilience so we are seeking ways to address this problem.
Clinical academic training
As a teaching Hospital, we provide post-graduate training for qualified vets through our two Scholarship programmes. The Junior Scholarship programme provides a breadth of experience and teaching with an annual intake of 12 Scholars rotating through the different clinical teams during the 12.5-month programme, akin to an Internship. Our Senior Scholars train as future Specialist consultants within their chosen discipline over a period of 36 months, effectively constituting a Residency training programme. Consistent with training in human medicine, the residents and interns are also essential team members, helping ensure that we can operate on a 24/7 basis with appropriate support from Senior clinicians.
The Department has an enviable track record of success in its Senior Clinical Training Scholarship programmes and has been instrumental in training many of the present day internationally recognized veterinary specialists who actively contribute to the practice and advancement of veterinary medicine in its widest sense. Employing over 20 European Diplomates - all recognized specialists in their fields - the Department offers a range of approved training programs to provide structured continuing education and rigorous training towards the highest standard of professional excellence, in most cases a Diploma recognized by the European Board of Veterinary Specialists.
Student experience
The Department is committed to delivering an outstanding undergraduate student experience, providing opportunities for students to acquire knowledge and practice their skills throughout the veterinary programme, and to aid them in achieving their full potential as new graduates. During the programme, students have many occasions to engage with feedback mechanisms, either in person or anonymously; this feedback is viewed within a rigorous quality assurance process and actions and changes which result from student feedback are communicated to them at regular intervals.
Following a recent survey of current postgraduate students, the Postgraduate Committee implemented several initiatives to improve the students’ experience outside of their immediate research groups, in synergy with a Department-wide focus on research culture, well-being and EDI. Our postgraduate student population is very diverse with regards to nationalities, academic qualifications, age groups, professional experience and aspirations. Our diverse postgraduate student population coupled to the breadth of PhD projects undertaken, in terms of disciplines, research methods and supervisory arrangements, means it is not feasible to make a one-size-fits-all in-house training programme. Instead, we focus on advising postgraduate students on the most relevant training opportunities, both within and outside the University, to cater for their individual needs and existing skills. This needs to be balanced with other activities to build our postgraduate students’ interaction with their peers and members of the Department, which we are piloting this year. We also offer financial support for postgraduate student-led initiatives and have set up an anonymous online feedback form which all students are regularly reminded to complete.