The Open School Meeting was held on Monday 27th May 2013 at 2pm, in Lecture
Theatre 1
Chaired by Professor David Argyle, Head of School
Secretary: Laura Allan
Marianne Watson, Val White, Alan Hart, Helen Cobb, Liz Shipley, Darren Shaw, John Hopkins, Lindsay
Dalziel, Geraldine Giannopoulos, Matthew Erskine, Tudor Jones, Fiona Brown, Julie Gifford, Susan
Orr, Tobias Schwarz, David Wilson, Roshni Hume, Jessie Paterson, Sharon Boyd, John Keen, Adrian
Philbey, James Gibbons, Bryony Waggett, Linda Morrison, Jorge Del Pozo, Neil Anderson, Apple
Zhang, Neil Wilson, Irene Harris, Kay Aitchison, Florence Finlayson, Glynis Summers, Caterina Fiegna,
Caroline Hahn, Helen O’Leary, Claire Phillips, Jane Barr, Sally Argyle, Catriona Bell, Alastair Macrae,
Catherine Gordon, Julie Forest, Padraic Dixon, Inaki Deza-Cruz, Keith Thoday, Ivan, Morrison, Scott
Pirie, Ian Handel, Michael Thrusfield, Richard Elders, Diane Macdonald, Tracy Hill, John Mosley,
Jessica Lawrence, Pauline Jamieson, Juliet Dincan, Lisa Pang, Cat Eastwood, Rhona Muirhead, Nicki
Reed, Aileen Brown, Danielle Gunn-Moore, Anna Meredith.
1)
News from the University
a) HoS congratulated staff on being first runner up in the EUSA Award in the Best School
category
b) HoS congratulated staff on winning a Bronze Medal for the Campus in the Sustainability
Awards and Roslin Institute on winning a silver medal for labs.
c) HoS announced the sad news that Mme Jeanne Marchig had passed away recently. HoS
reported that Natalie Waran represented the School at her funeral.
d) Higher Education Funding Council (HEFC) have made top ups to fees available in England.
This makes us uncompetitive. HoS reported that there was some ambiguity in Scotland
which might not rule having the same arrangement with SHEFC.
e) HoS reported that RCVS have changed their committee structure
f) Surrey Vet School have interviewed for their new Head of School, appointment
announcement pending
g) HoS reported that Heads of Vet Schools had set up the Council of UK Vet Schools
h) RCVS Vistitation, next visitation will be most likely to be in 2014 and will be a joint
RCVS/AVMA/EAEVE visit.
2)
Update on the School Strategic Plan and Finances
HoS reported that the School finances should be in a better state next year.
3) Campus Developments and Funding
HoS reported that BBSRC have given £5 million to the campus – this will allow the next phase of
the campus building to go ahead. Val White reported that there would be 4 new designs for the
new building made available for staff within the next 4 weeks. These will be displayed on poster
boards in Roslin Building and in the School. HoS is looking to apply for funding from the
Robertson Trust towards the New Large Animal Facility, with a focus on building a new Surgery
Block for the Equine Hospital. Sandra Chilton has been successfully fundraising for the Clinics.
1
An application to the Racing Trust is imminent for Equine and areas of fundraising for the new
possible Centre for Thoroughbred Medicine and Rehabilitation are on-going.
4)
Curriculum Developments
HoS asked teaching staff to be aware of messages and impressions when giving feedback to
students. HoS highlighted to staff with teaching responsibilities that these are denoted on their
PURE Profiles as well as any research they do. This is not just important with regard to the
upcoming REF2014, these pages will be used as the basis for new personal web pages on the
School website, which the HoS expects to be up and running in the next 6 months.
Professor Susan Rhind reported on the work the Curriculum Development Group has been
doing – technical issues meant her slides were unavailable, they are attached. Professor Rhind
reported that overall the current structure works well but that due to the introduction of new
material, some students were experiencing a slight lecture overload; with some cases of
Students having as many as 5 lectures in one day.
Professor Rhind went on to detail some of the changes which will be implemented.
First Year – New content is still being refined. Student feedback indicated more help with the
transition to University would be useful; help with study skills and assessment mentioned.
Caroline Hahn has been working on a Parasitology initiative with Neil Sargison. They have been
looking at Flipping the Classroom – content to lectures available beforehand allowing deeper
discussion.
Second Year – evidence based medicine and SSC2 preparation after Easter. Clinical reasoning
classes with Neil Hudson, also after Easter.
Third Year - Clinical Animal Behaviour - Dog and Cat course. AHWFS 3 - Clinical Foundation
course. Reduction in core content in dog and cat integrated clinical course.
Fourth Year - Changes largely driven by changes to year 5 in 2014-15. AHWFS 4 - Semester 1.
Poultry and fish - exotics. All written exams before Easter with a resit opportunity before start
of final year.
GEP - Better induction for GEP Students. Parasitology - as first years. Clinical reasoning as
second years. Discussions underway about a possible Anatomy course.
Final Year - Announced a new Final Year. Final exams will be in January 2015 to give students
longer to focus on areas of interest. More focus on making Students more active learners.
5)
Athena Swan and Staff Awards
HoS congratulated the staff for the school’s Athena Swan Bronze Award.
The school is instituting a new three year action plan. Staff were reminded that although the
focus of Athena Swan was on female equality it shouldn’t be seen as divisive, and that the ethos
of Athena Swann should be embedded in the Vet School.
HoS announced he wanted to institute Staff Awards – these will be held after the Open School
Meeting on 4 September, with a view to holding them every 2 years.
REF – staff definitely not going forward to the REF have been informed. Remaining Impact
Statements look good however environmental content will need rewritten. The date for initial
submissions is 8th of July and HoS has a meeting in College on the 28th July for review. HoS
reminded that wider impact and contribution should take precedence over position of
Authorship on submissions.
6)
Staffing Levels and New Appointments
HoS announced that the advertisement for the School Administrator had run and four
candidates will be interviewed. .They have been invited to interview with Val White and HoS at
2
the end of July with each spending half a day in school meeting members of the Senior
Management Group.
Student Recruitment Manager is currently being advertised.
HoS welcomed Richard Elders – who started in Oncology, and Andrew Hopker in the Farm
Animal Practice.
The Neurology post is still under negotiations
Raphael Labens has accepted the Equine Surgery post and is due to start in July 2013; his
partner has been offered a post in the Hospital for Small Animals.
Yolanda Pereira starts in Cardiology 1st June 2013.
Anaesthesia posts are still pending.
Tim Nuttall has accepted a post as Senior Lecturer in Dermatology.
Microbiology will be going ahead soon
Three nursing posts are still in progress.
7)
Strategic Initiatives in Clinical work and Research
HoS felt that going forward the new building work should initially focus on Equine Surgery
block. HoS discussed new MRI scanner, and opening a new interventional radiology Suite – with
the possibility of naming it after a major donor and supporter of the School/University.
There has been interest in the proposed Ophthalmology post; however the School needs to find
the funding.
There will be a review of First Opinion Services and Exotics.
HoS announced the University would be creating 33 new Chancellor’s Fellowships
HoS discussed an interest in finding Canine Genetics research candidates
Strategic area for research Pathology continue to grow with a new Chair in Experimental
Pathology – Michael Cheeseman has been appointed as Chair of experimental Pathology.
Tanja Opriessnig has been appointed Chair in Infectious Disease Pathology, which is a joint post
with the University of Iowa.
CTVM – HoS announced he would like to revitalise the Centre for Tropical Veterinary Medicine
looking at what can be done in terms of Teaching and Research. HoS is proposing to re-launch
CTVM whilst the School hosts a two 2 day William Dick Symposium in 2014.
IT - HoS reported the IT review was near completion
8)
Any Other Business
Tricia Hart spoke about forthcoming events: the Royal Highland Show, 20th to 23rd June 2013
and a Doors Open Day, Saturday 14th September 2013 in particular. Staff can request to
volunteer for either event.
PURE – staff were asked to look at expanding their PURE profiles, as well as adding teaching
commitments.
HoS congratulated David Hume on his election as a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences.
HoS highlighted the importance of School staff nominating fellow peers and colleagues for
national honours to raise the awareness of veterinary medicine.
HoS highlighted Saturday 6th July was Graduation Day and encouraged staff to attend in to the
procession and ceremony. Also the pre-graduation prize-giving on the 5th July.
HoS announced that there may be up to £30, 000 available from the Welcome Trust for small
clinical research projects. HoS suggested tasters in real labs as part of Residents projects.
HoS thanked Staff for their Teaching efforts, whilst balancing marking commitments.
Adrian Philbey asked if the House Tutor System was carrying on – HoS responded that the
Student Feedback had been positive and that data was currently being looked over.
3