The core members and some alternate members of the Council on International Veterinary Medical Education (CIVME) met in Washington D.C, on March 5th, 2019 for their annual meeting. Core members from eight international regions participated in the meeting, where the following matters were amongst those on the agenda:

• CIVME's strategic plan
• CIVME micro-grants for veterinary education
• International accreditation and CIVME's role in supporting colleagues around the world.
• Research in education days
• Fostering faculty teaching exchanges and regional meetings
• CIVME newsletters and other communication
• Governance of CIVME

During the meeting Dr. Harold Bok from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Utrecht University in the Netherlands was chosen as CIVME's new chair. The CIVME board wishes to thank Dr. Emma Read and Dr. Stephen May for co-chairing CIVME during the first years of its existence. Their role in establishing the council was indispensable and is greatly recognized.

During the annual meeting in March this year, CIVME funded program grants designed to foster the enrichment and advancement of international academic veterinary medical education. This year, which is the third year of the program, 27 proposals representing collaborative efforts from more than 40 institutions around the world were received and considered during the process.

	During the 2019 annual meeting the results of previously awarded CIVME Research Grant Program projects were displayed through poster presentations. These posters were very well received and raised interesting discussions throughout the conference.

We are happy to announce that the 2019 funded programs and principle investigators are:

• Optimizing work-based learning in veterinary undergraduate studies by identifying factors and issues that contribute to the experiences of students, placement providers and faculty; Dr. Hoque, Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Bangladesh
• Establishing evidence-based wellness practices for veterinary medical students to decrease burnout, depression, anxiety and improve quality of life: A response to increasing rates of veterinarian suicide; Dr. Chigerwe, University of California- Davis, United States
• Art and Identity: Using creative methods to support professional identity formation: The students' perspective; Dr. Elizabeth Armitage-Chan, Royal Veterinary College, London, United Kingdom

During AAVMC's annual meeting in Washington D.C., CIVME featured its first Research in Education Symposium (RinE-symposium). Dr. Kent Hecker from the University of Calgary's Faculty of Veterinary Medicine kicked off this new tradition with a workshop about "How to develop an educational research project." More than 25 participants attended this vibrant and interactive session. Next year a new RinE-symposium with more workshops and sessions about veterinary education and conducting research in veterinary education can be expected!

Harold Bok's article " Validity Evidence for Programmatic Assessment in Competency-Based Education" (published in Perspectives in Medical Education in November of 2018) was featured in the KeyLIME (Key Literature in Medical Education) podcast and received rave reviews from the hosts. Access the podcast.

Harold Bok authored this summary of CIVME.

Veterinary medicine is a global public good that addresses compelling societal needs. Veterinarians play a critical role in fostering the safety of the global food supply, protecting public health, battling infectious disease threats, and providing care for companion animals. High-quality education and a well-trained professional workforce are foundational to providing adequate veterinary medical services, healthy animals and healthy people. Recognizing its responsibility to provide global leadership for academic veterinary medicine, in 2016 the AAVMC established the Council on International Veterinary Medical Education (CIVME). The goal is to promote collaboration, foster innovation and share best practices on a worldwide scale to advance the quality of teaching and learning in veterinary medical education. CIVME's existence serves as a constant reminder of the veterinary medical profession's obligation to ensure that the benefits of modern veterinary medicine are shared with as many people and animals as possible around the world.  Please click here to read rest of story.

The executive committee of the African Association for Veterinary Education Establishments met in Nairobi, Kenya from 7 to 9 May 2019. This meeting coincided with a meeting of the Chief Veterinary Officers and OIE delegates from all African Union states in order to create opportunity for interactions. The objectives of the meeting were to progress on the establishment of the 2A2E-V, and more specifically to enhance collaboration among all veterinary education establishments in Africa, to establish continental quality assurance for 2A2E-V, to harmonize veterinary curricula and other outcomes in Africa, to enhance dissemination of innovation and good practice and to build capacity among educators of 2A2E-V member establishments. The meeting was attended by the 10 executive committee members, including the president Professor Yalace Kaboret from Senegal, and the two vice-presidents, Professor Hany Hassan from Egypt and Professor Dietmar Holm from South Africa who is also the current primary council member on CIVME representing Africa.

	Photos of delegates and the workshop facilitators involved in a variety of activities, including making and trying out some models, as well as a group of students using the new clinical skills facility at CVASU.

A two-day long workshop on teaching clinical skills was presented at Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (CVASU) in Bangladesh in January. The workshop team was led by Professor Sarah Baillie with Alison Catterall and Alex McGhee from Bristol Vet School and local host Professor Dr. Bibek Chandra Sutradhar. The workshop was supported by a travel grant from Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW), UK. Nearly 40 delegates attended, including faculty from most veterinary schools in Bangladesh as well as Sri Lanka and field veterinarians. On the first day delegates participated in three practicals: they made suturing models; tried out models for a range of common and important clinical procedures (e.g. injection techniques, IV catheterization, spay); and had a tour of the newly established CVASU clinical skills lab (the first in Bangladesh) which was set up for a practical on surgical preparation and suturing. On the second day, the delegates worked in groups to design a clinical skills lab and develop a plan to take back to their own school. Please click here  to read the rest of this story.

Annelies Decloedt - Belgium

Dr. Annelies Decloedt is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University (Belgium). Annelies teaches the courses "Clinical and communication skills," which run from the second until the fifth year of the six-year program of Master in Veterinary Sciences. She is also a member of the Education Committee and the subcommittee 'Active Learning' at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. Annelies graduated as an equine veterinarian in 2008 from Ghent University, Belgium. She immediately started a PhD fellowship at Ghent University funded by the Research Foundation Flanders, investigating new echocardiographic techniques for quantifying cardiac function in horses. This PhD was completed in 2012 and was followed by continued clinical research as a postdoctoral research fellow of the Research Foundation Flanders in the field of equine cardiology, ultrasound and exercise physiology. In 2015, Annelies was appointed as assistant professor in veterinary clinical and communication skills at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University. Annelies developed and launched the veterinary skills laboratory at Ghent University. Please click here to read rest of story.

Dr. Monica Forni is associated Professor in Veterinary Physiology at the Veterinary Medical Science Department of University of Bologna (Italy). Dr. Forni teaches in the Bachelor of Biotechnology and in the Masters of Animal Biotechnology and Veterinary Medicine, in the area of Laboratory Animals Science and Experimental Design. Dr. Forni is particularly interested in Quality Assurance's methodologies and procedures in the national and international context of Higher Education. Since 2009, Dr. Forni acted as Quality Assurance Expert in the evaluation of Veterinary Medicine degrees for the European Association of Establishments for Veterinary Education (EAEVE). By visiting many establishments across European countries, this experience increased her passion about educational research and student-centered approach. EAEVE is in fact accredited by the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) and applies the European Standard and Guidelines (ESG) 2015. In Italy, the national accreditation system of Higher Education is relatively new (Law no. 240/2010) and Dr. Forni acts as Expert of evaluation for the Italian National Agency for The Evaluation of Universities and Research Institutes (ANVUR) in order to improve the quality of education and research. Please click here to read the rest of the story.

Dr. Marcelo Sergio Miguez completed his undergraduate studies at the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences of the University of Buenos Aires - FCV UBA -, where he graduated as a veterinarian in 1983. He has extensive postgraduate training: in the field of veterinary medicine, he obtained the title of "Swine Health and Production Specialist" granted by the National University of Río Cuarto, Province of Córdoba, Argentina (2009). At the same time, he obtained the title of "Higher Diploma in Social Sciences with a Mention in Management of Educational Institutions" granted by the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO; 2007). Regarding university teaching, he obtained his diploma of "Specialist in University Teaching with Orientation in Veterinary and Biological Sciences of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the UBA" (2002); later he received his diploma of "Master in University Teaching" issued by the University of Buenos Aires (2017). Please click here to read rest of story.

Dr. Felipe Wouk received his veterinary degree and internship in veterinary surgery from the College of Veterinary Medicine at the Federal University Paraná, Brazil in 1977-78 respectively and his M.Sc. in veterinary surgery at the Federal University of Santa Maria, Brazil in 1980. He was appointed Assistant Professor of Surgical Sciences at the Department of Veterinary Medicine at the Federal University Paraná, Brazil in 1981. He obtained a Specialized Diploma in Ophthalmology at The Veterinary School of Toulouse, France and earned his PhD on Animal Biology and Physiology at The National Polytechnic Institute of Toulouse, France in 1985. He developed his sabbatical (post-doctoral) studies on Ophthalmology at the Veterinary School of Alfort, France in 1989. During his second sabbatical period, Dr. Wouk was engaged by the Roussel-Uclaf Laboratories in Paris, France as a researcher on animal pharmacology and head for global animal health development in 1990-91. Please click here to read rest of story.

Here is a list of important international meetings coming up in academic veterinary medicine. Please click the links for more information.

1. VetEd-Symposium, 3-5.7.2019, UK, Rothamsted, Harpenden
2. AMEE, Wien, 24.-28. Aug 2019
3. Graz Conference, Wien, 26 April 2019,
4. ePufungs-Symposium (Aachen, und an wechselnden Standorten), 26-27.9.2019 in Siegen,
5. DVG-Vet-Congress 14-16.11.2019 in Berlin (Seminar on Vet education included in a general meeting)
6. RIME 2019, Copenhagen, Denmark: International Conference for Research in Medical Education
7. EACH Forum on Healthcare Communication, 16 - 18 September 2019, Leiden, The Netherlands
8. Campus Innovation, Hamburg, 21-22.11.2019
9. Teaching Trends, Niedersachsen, ELAN e.V. Kongress, biannual
10. DGHD, Leipzig, 5-8. März 2019, (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Hochschuldidaktik),