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Organisational background

Harper & Keele Veterinary School launched in 2020 with our first cohort of students. Combining the extensive resources and excellence at Harper Adams and Keele universities has created a rich and authentic environment for veterinary education and research, with students and staff at the Vet School uniquely benefitting from two highly successful institutions.

Combining a strong pedigree in animal sciences, veterinary nursing, veterinary physiotherapy, and agricultural sustainability at Harper Adams University with the established reputation that Keele University proudly boasts in life sciences and human medicine, the Harper & Keele Vet School is in a unique position to develop a model of veterinary education that has strategic partnership at its very core.

Building on the success of other community-based programmes in the medical and veterinary sector, the Harper & Keele Vet School aspires to develop graduates who value excellence in primary care, who are progressive, passionate, and purposeful in their professional development, who champion sustainability and welfare, and who embrace diversity and inclusion across the profession. We aim to give our graduates the knowledge, capabilities, personal attributes, and psychological toolkits with which they can optimise their performance in the profession.

Our veterinary programme is innovative and inclusive in design, integrating clinical contextualisation, authentic student development and professional tutoring from the very first week of learning.

Our mission:

Our mission is to educate and inspire students from all backgrounds, equipping them to thrive as professionals and contribute to animal, human and planetary health.

Drawing on the combined expertise and resources of two leading Universities together with a vibrant multi-disciplinary network, we seek to drive positive change in our industry and realise impact in vital areas of unmet need.

Watch back our live session: ‘Stay-versify- Putting Preceptors on The Career Map in Education’

Inclusive. We are a community with a sense of belonging, where every role is valued.

Empowering. We provide a personalised learning culture with multiple pathways to opportunity, and a willingness to challenge.

Collaborative. We believe that innovative partnerships and collaboration achieve the best results.

Dynamic. We encourage an agile and flexible approach to navigate a changing landscape.

Sustainable. We have built a new model of veterinary education, designed to address the challenges faced by our planet, people, and economies.

Community

At the heart of our Vet School is community, where every role is valued and respected. The unique partnership between Harper Adams and Keele universities creates unique opportunities to enhance the student experience, optimise graduate outcomes and develop a dynamic and diverse faculty of educators.

Potential

We are committed to providing the right environment and resources to realise all potential in our student body, colleagues and wider collaborations, and to ensure every member of our team is given the opportunity to thrive. Colleagues have the freedom to develop their academic portfolios, can access a programme of Continuing Professional Development from both institutions as well as a dedicated CPD budget, and are supported to explore their personal scholarship.

Place

Staff working at the Harper & Keele Veterinary School can access a range of benefits and facilities at both institutions, including an on-site nursery at Keele and leisure facilities at both campuses, with staff discount schemes available.

Keele University is nestled in 600 acres of countryside, boasting a big campus but a small and cosmopolitan community. The dedicated Vet School building features state-of-the-art anatomy and clinical skills laboratories and is home to a new 24-hour teaching hospital “Garden Vets at Keele”, due to open autumn 2023.

Harper Adams University is set on a 494-hectare farm, and with extensive companion animal facilities, there are more than 3000 animals on-site, and related specialist courses including Agriculture, Veterinary Bioscience, Veterinary Nursing, Veterinary Physiotherapy and Zoology. The new Veterinary Education Centre provides a hub for veterinary professionals, and houses two lecture theatres, clinical skills labs and a teaching theatre.

Take a tour of our facilities here.