Surrey Vet School and Chartered Management Institute announce new partnership
"The Chartered Management Institute is proud to be partnering with the University of Surrey on this new aspect of their undergraduate degree" - Matt Swarbrick, CIM.
The University of Surrey School of Veterinary Medicine has partnered with the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) to bring the benefit of management skills to veterinary practice.
The partnership will see students on the undergraduate Veterinary Medicine and Science BVMSci (Hons) course qualify for a CMI-accredited Level 5 certificate in Management and Leadership upon completion on year three of their five-year course.
In a press release, the CMI said the partnership 'marks a new frontier' for both CMI and the University of Surrey. As veterinary practices function as small businesses, they need good leadership and management to thrive and best serve their communities, it said.
“The Chartered Management Institute is proud to be partnering with the University of Surrey on this new aspect of their undergraduate degree,” commented Matt Swarbrick, director of partner sales at CMI. “We know that Management and Leadership skills are vital in a variety of contexts both in and out of the workplace, and we are excited to be working with the UK’s newest accredited veterinary school to create industry leaders of the highest standards.”
Dr Martin Hawes, a teaching fellow at the University of Surrey Veterinary School, added: “The Chartered Management Institute is highly regarded for promoting excellence in management and leadership and we are delighted to partner with them. We are proud that the Management and Leadership skills developed by our veterinary undergraduates meet the standard of the highest qualification CMI award for a non-business degree.”
Yasmin Abou-Amer, a veterinary medicine and science student at the University of Surrey, said: "As a third-year student of veterinary medicine, it is an exciting prospect that our education now includes the opportunity to be awarded with an additional qualification in Management and Leadership. It has been really fascinating, interesting, and downright vital for us to know about how businesses work, but also about the skills needed to run an effective veterinary business, regardless of the sector we go into.”
“As someone who came to vet school after a career in social work, where I held management roles, it is really encouraging to see that Management and Leadership skills are being introduced at the earliest possibility. Once out in the working world, students will already have a good grasp of some of the challenges you can face once in practice. I am really thankful to be part of an innovative veterinary school which is giving me the skills to adapt to the times in which we live and work."
Veterinary practices are being urged to help owners safely dispose of any unused and expired pet medicines - not just antibiotics - during November's Animal Medicines Amnesty. 
