Texas A&M To Host Fourth Annual Veterinary Innovation Summit
Story by Madeline Patton, CVMBS Communications
Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVM) and the North American Veterinary Community (NAVC) invite members of the veterinary medicine community and emerging technology enthusiasts, alike, to the fourth annual Veterinary Innovation Summit (VIS), April 3-5 in College Station.
VIS offers attendees a range of breakout workshops and TED-style presentations during which attendees will learn about various issues that challenge the field of veterinary medicine.
Activities will begin on Friday at the Texas A&M Hotel and Conference Center’s Century Ballroom, including welcoming remarks from the first of two keynote speakers for the event—author, speaker, and independent adviser for professional firms and governmental entities Richard Susskind, who will discuss “Technology and Your Future.”
Saturday’s and Sunday’s activities—held at the CVM’s Veterinary & Biomedical Education Complex (VBEC)—will include presentations, demonstrations, and fresh perspectives from today’s veterinary entrepreneurs.
Building on those presentations, over the course of the three-day event, there will be 10 different interactive breakout sessions that will give participants a chance to collaborate with their peers to solve complex issues that challenge the field of veterinary medicine. With this format, attendees will be able to curate their own schedule to fit the needs and interests for themselves and their teams.
New this year, the VIS, in partnership with the DORIS Group, will focus on finding solutions for four Grand Challenges—the healthcare team, big data, research, and training.
These Grand Challenges will be facilitated by the DORIS Group, a team of design researchers who specialize in high-energy, engaging workshops that enable people to solve complex challenges, which has developed a tool specifically for VIS geared toward empowering attendees to produce many diverse solutions to the grand challenges facing veterinary medicine.
As part of a three-hour Grand Challenges workshop, participants will have the chance to contribute solutions to one of the Grand Challenges.
“We are excited to have the DORIS Group join us for the fourth annual Veterinary Innovation Summit,” said Dr. Eleanor M. Green, the Carl B. King Dean of Veterinary Medicine at Texas A&M. “This group knows that the most innovative solutions come from creativity, so they will use their design thinking methods to unleash out-of-the-box ideas, making it fun for each group to think of the next amazing thing.”
On Sunday, following the VIS’s second keynote presentation—”Leadership—It’s Not a Problem, It’s a System!” by Dr. Barbara Kellerman, the James McGregor Burns Lecturer in Public Leadership from Harvard University—the entire conference will come back together with the DORIS Group for Grand Challenges presentations and discussions.
Then, attendees will choose a grand challenge they are interested in working on throughout the year, and DORIS will provide guidance through planning how each idea can be developed.
Opportunities to network with others and discussion panels will also be provided throughout the weekend.
For more information on this year’s VIS, visit veterinaryinnovationsummit.com.
About the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences
One of only 31 Colleges of Veterinary Medicine in the United States and Canada, the CVM was established in 1916 and, since that time, has graduated nearly 8,000 veterinarians. Texas Aggie veterinarians proudly serve Texas, the nation, and, indeed, the world in countless ways. From highly sophisticated veterinary practices serving the 19 million residents of Texas and their animals to military, industrial, government, and university roles, Aggie veterinarians hold positions of prestige and responsibility. The faculty and staff of the college are committed to exceptional teaching, research, and patient care. The research addresses significant problems in both animal and human health, which impacts both Texas and the world.
About the NAVC
Founded in 1982 and headquartered in Gainesville, Florida, with offices in Orlando, Florida, the North American Veterinary Community (NAVC) is a non-profit organization that provides world-class professional development to the global veterinary healthcare community. Its largest initiative, the annual VMX: Veterinary Meeting & Expo, formerly the NAVC Conference, hosts more than 17,000 attendees each year. Other offerings include VetFolio, an online CE platform in conjunction with AAHA; its official journals: Today’s Veterinary Business, Today’s Veterinary Practice, Today’s Veterinary Nurse, and Veterinary Advantage; and educational event offerings: the NAVC Institute, NAVC LIVE, and NAVC Discover. Visit NAVC.com for more details.
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For more information about the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, please visit our website at vetmed.tamu.edu or join us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Contact Information: Jennifer Gauntt, Director of Communications, Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences; jgauntt@cvm.tamu.edu; 979-862-4216
