An important delegation from the University of Namibia (UNAM) visited the Faculty of Veterinary Science’s Onderstepoort Campus on 17 and 18 May. The delegation was led by the Pro-Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs) of UNAM, Prof F Gideon, accompanied by Dr A Mosimane, Assistant Pro-Vice Chancellor (Neudamm Campus), Dr S Angombe, Dean: Faculty of Agriculture and Dr A Marais, Associate Dean: School of Veterinary Medicine.

A meeting with Prof Norman Duncan, Vice-Principal: Academic of the University of Pretoria to discuss the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two institutions preceded the delegation’s visit to the Onderstepoort Campus. Among others, the extensive 2-day visit was aimed at discussing future exchange programmes between UNAM and the Faculty with specific reference to the final-year students of the respective institutions. The Faculty is in the position to assist final-year students from UNAM’s School of Veterinary Medicine with Work Integrated Learning (WIL) exposure in its Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital (OVAH), a facility that UNAM does not have at their disposal. In exchange, students from Onderstepoort will be visiting Namibia for exposure to mass wildlife capture, veterinary public health visits to Namibia’s state of the art export abattoirs and UNAM’s outreach clinics performing sterilisation of dogs, cats and donkeys in remote communities.

Among others, the delegation met with the Acting Dean of the Faculty, Prof Vinny Naidoo, Prof Dietmar Holm, Deputy Dean: Teaching & Learning, Prof Marthinus Hartman, Acting Director: Clinical Services, Prof Johan Schoeman (Companion Animal Clinical Studies) and Dr Martin van der Leek (Department of Production Animal Studies).

According to Prof Dietmar Holm, Deputy Dean: Teaching and Learning, the envisaged exchange provides important opportunities to both parties. “Onderstepoort offers the opportunity to UNAM students to receive world class clinical training in our state of the art academic hospital while UNAM offers the opportunity to broaden our students’ exposure in the elective programmes”, he said. The long-term combined aim is to spearhead the development of veterinary education and research in Africa.

The visitors from Namibia also had the chance to see the Onderstepoort Campus including the Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital (OVAH), undergraduate student accommodation and facilities, OP Skills Laboratory, Anatomy Museum, pathology section, the faculty’s Jotello F Soga library, its computer lab and a number of laboratories on campus.