RCVS to hold virtual Fellowship Evening in October

Next month [October 2020] the RCVS will be holding a virtual Fellowship Evening to formally welcome the veterinary surgeons admitted to the Fellowship this year, and to celebrate the scientific achievements and knowledge of the veterinary professions.

The online event will take place from 7pm on Thursday 1 October 2020, starting with a welcome from Professor John Innes FRCVS, the Chair of the Fellowship Board, who will provide an update on the Fellowship’s three-year plan, and announce the newly elected Vice-Chair of the Fellowship Board.

Our President Mandisa Greene will then welcome the new Fellows on board, after which there will be a series of three ‘Fellows in Focus’ talks, where Fellows are given the opportunity to talk about aspects of their careers, work and research. These are:

• Dr Freda Scott-Park FRCVS whose talk will be about the future of rural mixed practice, the development of the ‘elusive’ mixed practice graduate and the work of the Veterinary Delivery Landscape Project Steering Group in Scotland.
• Dr Gerhard Steenkamp FRCVS will talk about his 2018 experience of performing surgery on Grand, an iconic elephant resident of Tblisi Zoo in Georgia, and how it this helped to heal a whole community.
• Professor the Lord Trees FRCVS will talk about his appointment to the House of Lords, his role as a Peer, how his varied career has provided the foundation for this role and how the veterinary skillset is relevant for tackling a variety of global issues – from climate change to zoonoses. 

The evening will then culminate with this year’s keynote speaker Mark Woolhouse OBE FRSE FMedSci, Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the Usher Institute at the University of Edinburgh. Professor Woolhouse also sits on the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling which provides expert advice to the Department of Health and Social Care and wider UK government on scientific matters relating to the UK’s response to influenza and other emerging diseases.

Delivering a talk entitled 'Covid-19: Science in the spotlight', Professor Woolhouse will cover his experience of working as an epidemiologist with both medical and veterinary experience and the policies that have been instituted for Covid-19 control. Time permitting there will also be the opportunity to ask Professor Woolhouse questions.

Professor Innes (pictured) said: “As in previous years, this event is open to all veterinary professionals, so I do hope that, as it will be hosted online this year, many more vets and vet nurses will be able to join us for the evening. It will be wonderful to welcome our new Fellows and find out a little more about each of them, and to hear from three of them in more detail about the areas of their work they are passionate about.

“I also look forward to hearing from Professor Woolhouse as someone who has been very much directly involved in the response to the unprecedented circumstances of this year and can talk about how scientific knowledge and policy interact. I am sure it will be a fascinating and enlightening experience.”

Invitations for Fellowship Evening have been sent to all veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses and more information is available on the event's dedicated webpage. Anyone with any queries should please email Chloe Baxter, RCVS Events Officer, on [email protected]