Our work with the local community
The RVC works closely with government and public bodies and local groups across the community and here are just some of the ways we get involved:
Supporting Government & Public Bodies Locally
Local Fire & Police Service - animal handling
The RVC has organised and developed training sessions for the local police and fire & rescue services. This specialist training enables police officers and firemen to learn about how to handle horses and large animals. In rural areas particularly, animals may wander on to public highways, disrupting traffic and causing a danger to the public or be trapped in an accident. The skills gained enable the teams to be able to control a horse quickly and safely.
The RVC’s own charity recently bought our Equine team a equine rescue mannequin to help with this type of training.
RG Carter (our development contractors) and the RVC are currently in preliminary discussions with the local Fire Brigade and the Ambulance Service’s Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) about training opportunities. The tower crane on site has been offered for “rescue at height” training, while the wider contractor site could be used for a construction environment simulation.
Community & Police Base
The RVC offers a base on campus for some officers from the local Safer Neighbourhood Community police team.
Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership
The Hertfordshire LEP has recently made a donation to the RVC of £7m towards the establishment of a Veterinary Vaccinology and Cell Therapy Hub which will accelerate the One Health approach, boosting the development of next-generation vaccines and cell therapies to combat key animal pathogens and ultimately protect humans.
NHS
During the pandemic, the RVC has been working hard to help the fight against COVID-19. We have joined a drive by DEFRA to provide an inventory of equipment that may be called upon by the NHS such as ventilators, PPE and other equipment. We have sent our dialysis unit and supplies of vital medical equipment to the NHS and vital PPE to local hospitals and hospices.
As a community we have called upon staff, students and alumni to send us in their unwanted scrubs which we have sorted and sent to local Hertfordshire & London hospitals, along with 100 pairs of RVC socks and our Students Union have sent thermometers to the local Hertfordshire Community First initiative.
Working with Local Organisations & Community Groups
Hawkshead
We are an active member of many local organisations and community groups such as the Welwyn Hatfield Business Forum, Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council 11-19 Group, Hawkshead Lane Working Group and local groups such as the Welham Green Book Swap and The Friendship Group run by Councillors from Welwyn Hatfield and takes place in Welham Green.
We work with Herts County Council, Welywn Hatfield Borough Council and North Mymms Parish Council to develop and enhance the local environment, ensure safety, and build relationships with our neighbours.
Camden
Our Camden campus in London is part of the and also works closely with the Camden community offering homework clubs, animal anatomy sessions and we host many public events such as Night at the Vet College. All of these initiatives are run by our Outreach and Widening participation teams and information on such events and initiatives can be found here.
Streetvet is a national charity helping pets owned by the homeless in city centres, towns and regions across the UK. Many of our students and alumni volunteer with the charity along with some of our staff and our first opinion practice Beaumont Sainsbury Animal Hospital in Camden works with the charity for those that need treatment in London.
The RVC’s Beaumont Sainsbury also works closely with charity partners the Dogs Trust, the RSPCA and Wood Green Animal Shelter. Our Shelter Medicine Programme at the RVC provides four dedicated vets to these animal shelters who in turn train our students about the importance of improving the lives of homeless animals.
Our Business Services & Research
We actively collaborate with business and industry to progress science and develop new technologies. This ensures that our world-class scientific and clinical knowledge and expertise is used to improve the lives of humans and animals.
Our business team works closely with scientists and clinicians to identify, protect, develop and commercialise intellectual property, to strengthen research collaboration and the development of new technologies.
Learn more about Research at the RVC
London Bioscience Innovation Centre (LBIC)
LBIC is wholly owned by RVC and houses more than 50 biotechnology and life science companies.
One of our clients MicrosensDx have developed a portable coronavirus test kit for research that takes less than 25 mins from taking a sample to result.