Hong Kong’s first batch of locally trained vets to be allowed to practise in city after university programme receives international recognition
- City University says its veterinary medicine programme has been recognised by Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and Australasian Veterinary Boards Council
- Cohort of 11 students set to graduate and receive their results next month
Hong Kong’s first batch of locally trained veterinary surgeons will be allowed to practise in the city as its only undergraduate programme teaching animal medicine has been recognised by two international bodies.
City University on Monday said its Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences had secured accreditation from both Britain’s Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and the Australasian Veterinary Boards Council, representing Australia and New Zealand, for its six-year bachelor programme.
The university said it was the first veterinary medicine bachelor programme in Asia to receive recognition from both regulatory bodies.
The cohort of 11 students was set to graduate and obtain their local registration next month, college dean Vanessa Barrs said.
“Through this milestone, City University’s veterinary school is now a full member of a network of the world’s top schools that are committed to achieving and maintaining standards of veterinary education,” Barrs said.
“With the increasing emergence of zoonotic diseases, such as Covid-19, the bachelor of veterinary medicine programme also equips future veterinary surgeons with the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively address global health challenges.”
Ching Pak-chung, chairman of the Veterinary Surgeons Board of Hong Kong, said the bachelor programme would be recognised as a qualification to practise in the city following the accreditation.
The campus has been collaborating with Cornell University’s veterinary medicine college in the United States since 2009, with the first batch of 12 students admitted to its six-year programme in 2017. One student had dropped out and emigrated to Australia, according to Barrs.
Lester Garson Huang, chairman of the university’s council, said local veterinary surgeons would previously finish their studies overseas, adding he hoped the campus could offer more courses related to veterinary medicine in the future, such as master’s degree programmes.
“This recognition sets a new benchmark for veterinary education in the region,” he said.
Gabrielle Ho, 24, and Alicia Yau, 26, were among the 11 graduates who completed six years of study and placement training at the university.
Ho said they had gained experience in a variety of veterinary roles, ranging from working in individual clinics, food processing plants, local henneries and pigpens.
Both said they wanted to work with small animals after graduating. Ho plans to continue studying fish after graduating, and Yau is interested in exotic animals.
City University president Freddy Boey said the accreditations from the two international bodies were some of the toughest to achieve in the world, adding that the recognition would help the institution attract students and teaching staff.
“Not only will we produce outstanding graduates at the local undergraduate level, but also PhDs, research staff and students that will benefit Hong Kong society in the first instance and then the greater region.”
The Veterinary Surgeons Board of Hong Kong at present does not recognise any veterinary qualifications awarded by universities in mainland China.
Barrs said the college would aim to secure accreditation in the US in the next five years.
The University Grants Committee, which advises the government on funding for tertiary institutions, said it was proud to see the college become the first publicly backed local school to meet international standards for veterinary surgeons.
A spokesman for the committee said it would increase funding for the programme by 50 per cent following the accreditation.
The programme started to receive recurrent financing from authorities in the 2019-20 academic year, with an annual publicly funded intake of 30 local students. Barrs said the yearly quota would “be revised depending on the market’s needs”.
