Professor John Innes.

RCVS Fellowship Evening is open to all veterinary professionals.

An online event to formally welcome veterinary surgeons joining the RCVS Fellowship and to celebrate the scientific achievements of the veterinary profession is set to take place in October.

Professor John Innes, chair of the Fellowship Board, will open the virtual Fellowship Evening, outlining the Fellowship's three-year plan. This will be followed by the announcement of the newly elected vice-chair of the Fellowship Board, and a formal welcome of the new Fellows by RCVS president Mandisa Greene.

The event also includes three 'Fellows in Focus' discussions, where Fellows will have the chance to talk about different aspects of their careers, work and research.

• Dr Freda Scott-Park will discuss the future of rural mixed practice, the development of the ‘elusive’ mixed practice graduate and the work of the Veterinary Delivery Landscape Project Steering Group in Scotland
• Dr Gerhard Steenkamp will talk about his 2018 experience of performing surgery on Grand, an iconic elephant resident of Tbilisi Zoo in Georgia, and how it this helped to heal a whole community
• Professor the Lord Trees will discuss his appointment to the House of Lords, his role as a Peer, how his varied career has provided the foundation for this role and how the veterinary skillset is relevant for tackling a variety of global issues – from climate change to zoonoses.

The evening wil conclude with a speech by this year’s keynote speaker, Mark Woolhouse, a Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the Usher Institute at the University of Edinburgh. His talk entitled 'Covid-19: Science in the spotlight' will cover his experience of working as an epidemiologist with both medical and veterinary experience and the policies that have been instituted for Covid-19 control.

Professor Innes said: “As in previous years, this event is open to all veterinary professionals, so I do hope that, as it will be hosted online this year, many more vets and vet nurses will be able to join us for the evening. It will be wonderful to welcome our new Fellows and find out a little more about each of them, and to hear from three of them in more detail about the areas of their work they are passionate about.

“I also look forward to hearing from Professor Woolhouse as someone who has been very much directly involved in the response to the unprecedented circumstances of this year and can talk about how scientific knowledge and policy interact. I am sure it will be a fascinating and enlightening experience.”

The event takes place at 7 pm on Thursday, 1 October. Invitations for Fellowship Evening have been sent to all veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses and more information is available at rcvs.org.uk/fellowshipevening