HEFCE Awards £3.73m to Support Veterinary Lifelong Learning and Widen Access to Veterinary Professions
November 2006
The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has awarded £3.73 million to support the creation of a Lifelong Learning Network (LLN) in the veterinary and related disciplines. The Royal Veterinary College (RVC), London, is the lead institution for VETNET, but its success will be linked to activity by veterinary schools at Bristol, Cambridge, Liverpool and London, Nottingham Trent University, and the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.
HEFCE is funding 30 LLNs in England as part of a major initiative to facilitate the progression of learners - particularly those on vocational programmes - into Higher Education. The veterinary LLN is named VETNET LLN and brings together universities, land-based colleges, and related organisations including the Royal veterinary College (RVC), Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, LANTRA (the skills council for the land-based sector), Foundation Degree Forward, the British Veterinary Association, Landex (the association of land-based colleges), and the Learning and Skills Councils, working to a common end - the widening of choice and progression opportunities for vocational students and practitioners.
The LLN includes veterinary practice, animal care and welfare, and professions allied to veterinary practice, such as veterinary nursing.
Paul Probyn, Head Of Academic Development at the RVC, said: “This exciting initiative will open up new opportunities for young people - and mature students - who aspire to careers working with animals. It seeks to make Higher Education in veterinary and animal sciences more widely accessible, especially to those coming through colleges across the country. In supporting this project, HEFCE has recognised the national importance of the veterinary and related professions, and also the particular challenges we face in widening participation by groups who have traditionally been under-represented in veterinary education.”
The Royal Veterinary College
Established in 1791, the RVC is the UK’s longest-standing veterinary college—with a proud heritage of innovation in veterinary science, clinical practice and education.