Page 12 - ACT Annual Review 2023-2024
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EMS+
AWARDS SCHEME
idening Participation Veterinary students must undertake 26 weeks of practical
describes a body of placements to enhance their animal handling and clinical
work aiming to address skills during their course. Extra Mural Studies (EMS)
Wdiscrepancies in the take- give students experience in all areas of diagnosing and
treating animals, consolidating the taught component of
up of higher education opportunities by veterinary education and enabling students to experience
supporting different underrepresented all aspects of a vet’s working life. However, the additional
groups of potential and current travel and accommodation costs of these placements
students. This includes those from can be significant and an additional burden to students
disadvantaged backgrounds, lower undertaking an already challenging five-year course.
income households and other Many have to opt for lower-cost placements close to
home to try to keep costs down.
underrepresented groups. The RVC’s
Widening Participation strategy aims A major objective of EMS is that it should help students
to address these barriers and improve consider the career they would like to follow but the costs
can limit their opportunities to seek exciting placements
access to education, support progress in the areas of the sector of most interest to them.
whilst studying at the university and The EMS+ scheme aims to address this by providing
improve graduate outcomes and bursaries to students who would like to experience
employability. The ACT supports this career-informing EMS opportunities in the UK or abroad.
strategy in several ways. Each year, around twenty bursaries are awarded to
students to attend an aspirational EMS placement that,
without financial help, might not have been possible.
RVC student Veetha on her EMS
placement at Marwell Zoo
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