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Guide to Veterinary Education Twinning Projects
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Twinning Project – Veterinary Programmes at Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU) & University of Calgary, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (UCVM): Forging a competency-based curriculum for veterinary undergraduate training to improve better veterinary service delivery in India
WOAH twinning programmes enable WOAH’s network of Members and affiliated institutes to assist each other when seeking to enhance capacity and scientific expertise.
With this backdrop, a twinning project between Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU) and the University of Calgary, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (UCVM) has been operational since 1 March 2020. Its objective is to collaborate for knowledge sharing in areas of competency-based curriculum design, the practice of evidence-based pedagogic methods, and the measuring of learning outcomes for the teaching and learning improvement of the veterinary medical programme at GADVASU, consequently strengthening PVS (Performance of Veterinary Services) in India.
GADVASU became the first university to do curriculum mapping of an undergraduate veterinary programme. The curriculum framework was designed, and mapping of the current BVSc & AH curriculum was done in alignment with 38 program-level competencies developed using OIE (now WOAH) Recommendations on the Competencies of Graduating Veterinarians and the Veterinary Education Core Curriculum.
Based on that framework, gap analyses of data were performed. These determined that the veterinary curriculum’s core courses cover all competencies, though with some gaps and discrepancies. These gaps and discrepancies are targeted in the new curriculum and will be resolved to some extent, with implementation at the national level. Mapping of the degree programme provides a baseline for identifying gaps as part of continuous curriculum analysis.
The Revised Curriculum encompasses Day-1 competencies of a veterinary graduate in relation to the national and international requirements of livestock, animal health, One-Health and allied sectors. It also places greater emphasis on practical exposure through greater interdepartmental interactions.
Teaching Academy workshops (in-person and online) were conducted by both the Universities to create highly skilled leaders and master teachers through the development of a teaching Academy and develop effective teaching skills, via competency-based curriculum development and teaching philosophies.
The Principal Investigator, Dr. Sarvpreet Singh Ghuman from the GADVASU, and Dr. Kent Hecker from the University of Calgary (UCVM), along with two support staff, Dr. Gursher Singh Sidhu and Dr. Kirandeep Kaur Gill, are involved in various activities to achieve the objectives of this twinning project. Faculty from the University of Saskatchewan (USask), Canada, namely Dr. Baljit Singh Gill, Vice President (Research), Dr. Jay Wilson, Professor, Department of Curriculum Studies, College of Education and Dr. Loleen Berdahl, Professor and Executive Director, Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, played a significant role in the Teaching Academy workshops.
You may find Dr Ghuman’s (GADVASU) presentation here: GADVASU-UCVM Twinning Project
(Feb 2024) Brainstorming session at GADVASU to revise the Veterinary Curriculum in India.
(Feb 2024) Teaching academy workshop group photo at GADVASU, India
