Roseworthy was alwaysgoing to be the perfectlocation for SouthAustralia’s inauguralanimal and veterinary sciencesschool.Located just 50 kilometres north ofAdelaide, near Gawler, and situatedon 1600 hectares of farmland withaccess to lots of animals, the Schoolhas been producing world classgraduates and supporting local vetservices for ten years.Before the School started in 2008,students had to leave the state topursue veterinary studies. Head ofSchool, Dean of Roseworthy andalumnus Professor Wayne Hein wasone such student.“I did my initial studies inAgriculture at Roseworthy College,but wanted to go on to studyveterinary science. As I couldn’t getmy vet qualification here, I ended upgoing to Queensland,” he said.“A key change that helped toleverage Roseworthy as the idealOPPOSITERIGHTJonathon Bartschwith pigs fromRoseworthy’spig clubRIGHTProfessorWayne Hein withveterinary nurseJames Englert atthe CompanionAnimal HealthCentrePREVIOUSProfessor WayneHein with finalyear studentsSuria Fabbri(front) andJing Khuu (back)at the EquineHealth andPerformanceCentre06THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDElocation for a vet school wasrelocating ‘animal sciences’ coursesfrom the Waite campus to Roseworthy.“Once they had animal science upand running here, the feeling wasthey were now halfway to a vetschool, so why not startadvocating for one to be built.”Manager of the School SarahHocking was there in the early daysand said the worldwide recruitmentdrive for staff was one of the mostexciting activities in setting up theschool.“Moving to Australia and living ina rural setting didn’t suit everyone,but the people who were able toadapt were fantastic and we werefortunate to recruit them,” she said.There was also a big cultural shift oncampus. “The student populationwent from 90 per cent male to 80 percent female, and many students werenow coming from the city and livingin accommodation on campus.”A key person in evolving thecampus’ infrastructure and socialactivities to cater for the changingstudent demographic was StudentServices Manager David Purdie.“Providing students with anenvironment conducive to makingfriends, studying in small groups,sharing study notes and generallyfeeling comfortable was, andremains, essential in developinga real closeness and sense ofcommunity here at Roseworthy,”he said.Perhaps the biggest challenge ofall was getting the word out thatRoseworthy’s animal centres wereopen for business and wouldcomplement, rather than competewith existing vet services in the area.“Today we have fantasticrelationships with vets, animalowners and organisations in thecommunity. And they play areciprocal role in providingadditional real life placementexperience to our students,”said Operations Officer DianeWhatling.
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