Published: 28 May 2024 | Last Updated: 28 May 2024 09:45:22

A group of senior delegates from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) in England travelled to Ajman in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to participate in an international veterinary education conference, sharing their expertise and insights.

The conference was hosted at the Gulf Medical University (GMU) with RVC delegates including Professor Stuart Reid CBE, RVC President and Principal; Professor Jill Maddison, Professor of General Practice; Dr Mike Hewetson, Associate Professor of Equine Internal Medicine; and Nina Davies, Director of International and Strategic Engagement.

The group of experts attended meetings with GMU’s Chancellor, Professor Hossam Hamdy, and other senior colleagues in the UAE. Together, the delegations discussed the future of veterinary education in Ajman, opportunities for One Health research and possible teaching collaborations.

The RVC delegates also delivered presentations on various topics throughout the visit, with Professor Reid discussing modern veterinary education and the path towards international veterinary accreditation. Additionally, Professor Maddison spoke about approaches to clinical reasoning in veterinary clinical teaching and treating diarrhoea in small animals; Dr Hewetson provided an update on melanoma in horses; and Ms Davies spoke about approaches to student selection within the framework of international accreditation.

The speakers were joined by the Chief Guest, Dr Thumbay Moideen, Founder President of GMU and Chairman of the Thumbay Group; and Professor Hamdy.

Professor Stuart Reid CBE, President and Principal at the RVC, said:

"The collaboration with our friends at GMU and contribution to this most recent symposium have been as enjoyable as they have been productive in bringing our organisations closer together.

“Advancing veterinary medicine and clinical care in the region is an important initiative and the hospitality extended to us by the Chancellor and his colleagues, and the gracious endorsement by GMU's Founder and President, Dr Thumbay, made this a very special event. We look forward to developing our links and a very exciting future agenda."

Notes to Editors

For media enquiries, please contact:

• Jasmin De Vivo at jasmin.devivo@plmr.co.uk or rvc@plmr.co.uk 
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About the RVC

• The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) is the UK's largest and longest established independent veterinary school and is a Member Institution of the University of London.  
• It is one of the few veterinary schools in the world that hold accreditations from the RCVS in the UK (with reciprocal recognition from the AVBC for Australasia, the VCI for Ireland and the SAVC for South Africa), the EAEVE in the EU, and the AVMA in the USA and Canada. 
• The RVC is ranked as the top veterinary school in the world in the QS World University Rankings by subject, 2024.  
• The RVC offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in veterinary medicine, veterinary nursing and biological sciences.  
• The RVC is a research-led institution, with 88% of its research rated as internationally excellent or world class in the Research Excellence Framework 2021. 
• The RVC provides animal owners and the veterinary profession with access to expert veterinary care and advice through its teaching hospitals and first opinion practices in London and Hertfordshire.