Innovation Symposium

Our inaugural RCVS Innovation Symposium was held in the state-of-the-art facilities of the Warwick Business School campus in the Shard, London, on Wednesday, 20 September 2017.

Reports and videos from the day are now available on the ViVet website.

About the day

Inspired by the Vet Futures research initiative, this invitation-only event brought together thought leaders from the veterinary and veterinary nursing professions and those involved in innovative veterinary technologies or business models.

It provided a forum to discuss the opportunities and threats presented by innovation in the veterinary sector, and the impact it may have on the profession and how it is regulated.

The event also provided a launch pad for an ambitious programme to put veterinary professionals at the centre of innovation in the animal health sector and to ensure our regulations further enhance animal health and welfare through fostering appropriate innovation. 

Technologies such as telemedicine, advanced wearables/implantable, fast- and low-cost genomic sequencing and artificial intelligence present huge opportunities, but unless the professions engage early enough and seek to develop new services and ways of working, there is a significant risk they will be side-lined by disruptive business models based upon these technologies.

We want UK veterinary professionals to be at the forefront of innovation in order to treat their patients more effectively, but we also recognise the issues that new technologies can present from a professional and regulatory perspective.