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Free equine nutrition course launched
Online course attracts 10,000 participants

University of Edinburgh's Royal Dick School of Veterinary Studies has announced a new five-week equine nutrition course.

Lasting for five weeks the course will cover many aspects of equine nutrition, such as anatomy and physiology of the gastrointestinal tract, and the dietary management of horses and ponies affected by nutrition-related disorders. 10,000 people have already signed up for the course, which begins at the end of the month.

This course forms part of the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) which are delivered via the Coursera partnership, a network of leading international universities which offer short undergraduate level online courses for free. The initiative will give participants a taste of higher education for free.

The Royal Dick School is the first Vet School to launch a course as part of this programme. The University of Edinburgh is also the first in the UK to join the Coursera initiative, and are offering six courses in total.

"Students who participate in these free online taster courses at the University of Edinburgh will have access to an array of quality materials provided by world class academics who are leaders in their field." says Dr Jo-Anne Murray, director of taught postgraduate programmes and e-learning at Royal Dick School of Veterinary Studies.

Across 43 courses, more than 1.5 million people have enrolled on courses associated with Coursera. The participating universities have taught more than 650,000 students from 190 countries.

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Applications open for MMI research grants

News Story 1
 RCVS' Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) has launched round two of its veterinary mental health research grants.

Researchers have until 11.59pm on Wednesday, 28 May 2025 to apply for a grant for research which reflects MMI's 2025 focus areas.

Only one Impact Grant was awarded last year, and so this year there are two Discovery Grants and one Impact Grants available. Each Discovery Grant is worth £5,000 and the Impact Grant is worth £15,000.

For more information or to apply, email researchgrants@rcvs.org.uk to contact the MMI team.

 

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News Shorts
BBC Radio 4 documentary addresses corporate fees

BBC Radio 4's File on 4 Investigates has released a documentary exploring how corporate-owned veterinary practices may be inflating bills to increase profit.

Released on 15 April, 'What's Happening To Your Vet Bills?' revealed the policies which many corporate groups have in place to increase their profits. This included targets and upgrades which veterinary teams are tasked with meeting on a regular basis.

It also features Anrich Vets, an independently-owned practice based in Wigan. Following the case of Staffordshire terrier Benjy, who is diagnosed with a tumour, the documentary shares how the team were able to offer contextualised care and advice to make the procedure as affordable as possible for his owners.

The documentary can be heard on demand on BBC iPlayer.