Going LIVE!
Princess Anne to Open Royal Veterinary College’s New £4.5 Million Centre
20 February 2007
Journalists are invited to see HRH Princess Anne officially open a new state-of-the-art Lifelong Independent Veterinary Education (LIVE) Centre at the Royal Veterinary College’s (RVC) Hawkshead Campus in Hatfield on Tuesday 20 February 2007.
The state-of-the-art Centre is an educational programme to enhance veterinary education through the development of novel approaches to learning, specifically for undergraduate programmes.
LIVE was established after the RVC successfully won a HEFCE (Higher Education Funding Council for England) award of over £4.5 million. The project is set to ensure that veterinary education develops capable, committed and independent learners, from entry to retirement.
The Centre at the RVC is the only Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) focussed on veterinary education. It is designed to capture and deliver the best teaching and learning practice in veterinary education in the world.
Birgit Pirkelbauer, LIVE Centre Manager at the RVC, said: “We are honoured that such a high-profile animal-lover as HRH Princess Anne will be opening the LIVE Centre. The Centre will have wide-reaching implications for the veterinary profession in the UK. Its focus will be on encouraging veterinary students to learn more independently by reducing their dependency on their tutors, thus equipping them for lifelong learning. This will be achieved primarily through the use of technology-enhanced learning and assessment innovations.
“The new Centre will integrate theory and practice and develop new approaches to work-based learning. It will help ensure that students become even better prepared for their professional careers, ready to tackle many complex issues and diseases.”
It will encourage inter-professional collaboration and is set to improve the learning and teaching standards for vets, veterinary nurses, animal physiotherapists, and other related vocations.
The LIVE Centre provides unique facilities, including:
- 644 sqm of new teaching and learning space
- Clinical skills laboratories staffed and supported by an expanded and innovative clinical skills team with access to the latest developments in the field
- Break-out spaces equipped and staffed to support the development of generic communication skills using technology to enhance learning
- Dedicated learning labs to conduct innovative research into technology-enhanced learning. For example, the use of an innovative Haptic Cow, which allows trainee vets to explore a virtual model instead of a real animal, and the use of PDAs to reinforce independent learning
- A state-of-the-art venue and resource for key stakeholders in veterinary and inter-professional teaching and learning
Further Information:
- Visit: http://www.live.ac.uk for more information about LIVE and this week's events to mark the opening of the LIVE Centre
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.