Exploring the future of veterinary postgraduate education: Inside the first International PGVE Symposium
The first international Postgraduate Veterinary Education (PGVE) Symposium, hosted in London by the RCVS on 18 - 19 November 2025, brought together a global community of educators, regulators, and clinical and veterinary leaders to explore the future of postgraduate veterinary training.
The event marked an important step in strengthening global collaboration and shared thinking around veterinary education and workforce development.
Why the symposium matters
The PGVE symposium was established to address a growing need for international dialogue on postgraduate veterinary education and training pathways.
Delegates explored four overarching themes, each corresponding to a key stage in a veterinary professional’s career where education and training play a crucial role.
The themes were:
- Graduate transition into the profession
- Advanced education and training (for example, postgraduate qualifications, internships, and professional development)
- Continuing education and professional development
- Licensure and revalidation
Symposium overview
Held over two days, the symposium brought together more than 140 delegates and speakers, including educators, practitioners, and employers from across the veterinary, medical, and wider professional sectors.
Speakers travelled from across Europe, Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Hong Kong to share expertise, exchange perspectives, and contribute to a truly international programme focused on the future of postgraduate veterinary education.
The symposium featured keynote presentations, panel discussions, and interactive sessions designed to encourage open exchange and collaboration, and the sharing of ideas and best practice across organisations and countries..
An RCVS-hosted pre-symposium workshop also gave delegates the opportunity to explore key educational frameworks, emerging challenges, and opportunities in postgraduate education in greater depth.
The symposium was hosted by Dr Linda Prescott-Clements, RCVS Director of Education and co-chaired by Julie Dugmore RVN, RCVS Director of Veterinary Nursing.
Key speakers and perspectives
The symposium featured contributions from a range of international experts who brought insight from education, regulation, veterinary, and clinical practice.
Keynotes and panel discussions offered perspectives on a huge range of topics, including:
- The future direction of veterinary education systems
- The importance of alignment across global training frameworks
- The role of innovation in assessment and learning design
- How to support wellbeing in veterinary postrgraduate training
Reflections from the symposium
Here’s just a small snapshot of the feedback we received.
I found it so inspiring. I'd be really interested in being involved in the community of practice.
There is a real community to be grown surrounding PGVE and it's off to a great start.
A lot of the postgraduate education discussions made me think quite hard about how we can deliver undergraduate education to align with postgraduate training - producing vets who are really ready for that lifelong learning.
There is so much that can be done in building up the research and evidence in this area to support the postgraduate education moving forwards in a meaningful and evidence-based way.
Thank you to our community
We extend our sincere thanks to everyone who was involved in this landmark event - from the organisers and speakers to the many attendees. We greatly appreciate your contributions and enthusiasm, and we hope you will continue to support this initiative as we work together to strengthen and advance postgraduate veterinary education in the future.
Join the global PGVE network
The symposium - and future events like it - aim to build and strengthen an international community of practice dedicated to driving progress in postgraduate veterinary education.
Through collaboration, we hope to deepen our shared understanding of best practices in education and training, spanning the transition from graduation through to postgraduate programmes and continuing professional development. By doing so, we can help improve the postgraduation experience for veterinary surgeons and nurses, while also supporting greater satisfaction, engagement and wellbeing across the veterinary profession worldwide.
Stay connected
To find out more about future events and developments in postgraduate veterinary education, please email [email protected] to register your interest.
Report and videos
We are pleased to share the PGVE Symposium report and links to videos of some of the presentations below. More video links will be added to this page shortly.
Report (Luke to provide final copy)
Videos
https://vimeo.com/reviews/53446aff-17d4-4079-8066-d0ce4d469488/users/104324415/folders/29102771
Building on the momentum: PGVE 2027
Planning is already underway for the next PGVE symposium, coming to the UK in spring 2027.
Building on the energy and success of last year’s event, we look forward to welcoming both returning and new delegates for what promises to be another inspiring gathering.
More details to follow soon.
Resources
- Symposium programme - for the full symposium programme and presentation summaries, download the PGVE Symposium 2025 abstract booklet (PDF)
Postgraduate veterinary education evidence paper - the need to strengthen postgraduate veterinary education has never been greater. Unlike the health professions, veterinary education beyond graduation remains surprisingly underexplored, with little published evidence to inform best practices.
This challenge was rigorously examined in a paper published in the 'Journal of Veterinary Medical Education', entitled ‘The Veterinary Education and Training Landscape Beyond Graduation: Where is the Evidence?’.
The paper is authored Dr Linda Prescott-Clements, RCVS Director of Education, alongside international collaborators Professor Kent G. Hecker (Canada), Professor Harold G. J. Bok (Netherlands) and Professor Martin Cake (Australia). It highlights the potential opportunities and benefits of placing greater emphasis on postgraduate veterinary education and development, exploring them through the four themes focused on at the symposium.
If you would like a copy, please email Dr Linda Prescott-Clements at [email protected].