Renowned scientist to speak at Fellowship Day 2017

Broadcaster, anatomist and anthropologist Professor Alice Roberts has been confirmed as the keynote speaker for this year’s RCVS Fellowship Day with a speech about the revolutionary impact of domesticated animals on human society.

This year’s Fellowship Day, which all new and existing Fellows have been invited to attend, will take place on Friday 20 October 2017 at the Royal Institution and will see dozens of veterinary surgeons officially become Fellows of the RCVS having successfully applied to join the institution this year.

The event will begin at 10.30am with an introductory speech by Professor Nick Bacon with the official awards ceremony taking place at 10.40am. This year will see 50 veterinary surgeons becoming RCVS Fellows out of a total of 56 applications. Of the 50 successful applicants, 25 were awarded for meritorious contributions to clinical practice; 13 for meritorious contributions to knowledge; and 12 for meritorious contributions to the profession.

Our President Professor Stephen May will then introduce Alice Roberts (pictured), Professor of Public Engagement with Science at the University of Birmingham, who will be giving a 60-minute talk on the impact the domestication of dogs, horses and cattle has had on world history titled ‘Tamed: Three species that changed our world’.

Nick Bacon, Chair of the Fellowship Board which assesses applications to the Fellowship, said: “We are delighted that Professor Alice Roberts has agreed to be our guest speaker and also thank those Fellows who have agreed to give talks, and present their work and research on a wide range of topics.

“It will be a fascinating day for all who attend and represents the direction of travel for the new Fellowship initiative – a learned society which is committed to advancing knowledge and standards through debate and discussion. We hope the Fellowship will become a source of learned opinion and fact that can be made use of by the College, the profession and the public at large.

“It will be an honour to once again welcome a fantastic number of new Fellows who can be justly proud of their achievements.”

In the afternoon there will then be six ‘TED talk’ style presentations (each lasting around 12 minutes) from six of the existing RCVS Fellows on a variety of topics close to their heart, including the evolution of general practice, TB and badgers, international rabies eradication and the medical-veterinary relationship.

The full list of new Fellows, and the full programme for the Fellowship Day, is available. All veterinary surgeons are invited to attend the Fellowship Day and can book a place via the Eventbrite website.

The application period for the Fellowship is open all year and applications received before 5 February 2018 will be considered by the Fellowship Board for inclusion in the 2018 cohort of new Fellows.