On the morning of August 10, the annual meeting of 2024 China-US joint training DVM program in China, which was jointly hosted by our university and the U.S.-China Center for Animal Health at Kansas State University, China Veterinary Drug Association, and SOTEN China, was successfully held in Hangzhou.

Zhu Bin, Secretary of the Party Committee of Zhejiang A&F University, attended the meeting and delivered a speech. Grant Chapman, Vice Provost of Kansas State University, Beth Sabin, Director of Global Outreach Department of American Veterinary Medical Association, Cai Xuepeng, President of China Veterinary Drug Association, Shi Jishu, Director of U.S.-China Center for Animal Health attended the meeting. Song Houhui, member of the Party Committee of the University and Dean of College of Animal Science and Technology•College of Veterinary Medicine, and Prof. Shi Jishu of Kansas State University co-chaired the opening ceremony of the conference.

Zhu Bin introduced the school's school running situation to the guests. He pointed out that as one of the most far-reaching projects among the public programs of the China Scholarship Council, the Sino-US Joint Cultivation of DVM Doctoral Program is of great significance for growing China's outstanding veterinary talents, promoting the high-quality development of veterinary disciplines and boosting the early realization of the modernization of agriculture and rural areas. He said that the university attaches great importance to the development of the discipline of animal husbandry and veterinary medicine, and hopes that the teachers of the relevant disciplines in our university will establish closer cooperation with their counterparts at home and abroad, and further strengthen the cultivation of talents as well as international cooperation and exchanges in the fields of clinical veterinary medicine, veterinary public health, and zoonotic disease prevention and control, so as to jointly promote the development of the cause of human and animal health. He wished that the Sino-US Joint Training DVM Program would be better and better, make greater contribution to the promotion of the high-quality development of veterinary discipline, and become a banner in the field of veterinary education in the two countries and even globally.

The annual meeting also held special activities such as “DVM and Veterinary College Education Planning”, “Chinese Veterinary College Deans and DVM Symposium”, “Entrepreneurs Roundtable” and so on. Experts and scholars discussed how to rapidly integrate DVM into China's higher education system and how to promote the high-quality development of DVM programs.

The “Key Cooperation Award” was also presented at the conference. Mr. Shi Jishu, Director of the U.S.-China Center for Animal Health, presented awards to five people, including Mr. Jia Youling, the first president of Chinese Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) and the president of the China Equine Association (CEA), for their special contributions to the U.S.-China joint training program for DVMs.

Teaching Award, Pet Clinical Award, and Food Animal Clinical Award were presented at the conference, and Dr. Zeng Huan, DVM, won the first prize for teaching.

In the DVM work and results reporting session, 12 DVM PhDs from six universities, including China Agricultural University, Nanjing Agricultural University, Huazhong Agricultural University, South China Agricultural University, and Jilin University, reported on their respective DVM work and results achieved.

Kansas State University, Iowa State University, Zhejiang University, Northwest A&F University, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute and other nearly 30 domestic and foreign universities and research institutes, expert representatives, young DVM teacher representatives, SOTEN China, Tianjin Ringpu Bio-technology, WEN'S HOLDING, Hvsen Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Boehringer-Ingelheim, Ruipeng Pet Healthcare Group, Beijing Dabeinong Technology Group, etc. The meeting was attended by a total of more than one hundred people, including the chairmen, presidents and industry experts of the head enterprises of animal protection.

It is reported that the origins of the Sino-US joint training DVM program began in the 1920s, which trained a number of pioneers and founders of modern veterinary education in China, such as Luo Qingsheng, and laid the foundation for the development of China's veterinary disciplines, which was then interrupted for various reasons. Since its official launch in 2012, this program has become the most far-reaching program in the veterinary field among the national official programs, which promotes the cooperation and exchange between veterinarians of China and the United States, and provides new ideas and paradigms for cultivating innovative veterinary talents with international vision and exploring the modern higher education in veterinary medicine.

(College of Animal Science and Technology•College of Veterinary Medicine)