The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) is one of oldest veterinary faculties in Europe and the largest and only self-governing veterinary school in the UK. It has a strong tradition of excellence in education pursuing innovations in teaching material and delivery. The College houses one of the largest global teaching and research groups working on population medicine and public health which sees economics as an important component. This is reflected in the commitment to run undergraduate and postgraduate courses in economics. It also has recently appointed a business professor in the Veterinary Basic Science department in an interest to expand and strengthen education needs of students in the critical areas of practice management and service provision. In addition, the College has developed LIVE, a unique veterinary-themed Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) in the UK. LIVE (Lifelong Independent Veterinary Education) is specifically focused on capturing and expanding best teaching and learning practice in veterinary education, both nationally and internationally through inter-professional collaboration. The quality RVC’s training programme for researchers has been recognised by the European Commission HR Excellence in Research Award. Furthermore, in recognition of this leading role in veterinary eduction and research training the UK research council BBSRC has recently awarded a 5 year grant to support the College in developing an Advanced Training Partnership in pig and poultry health and production which incoporates the use of economics, management and social sciences. The programme, led by the RVC involves a partnership between Universities (RVC, Cambridge, Edinburgh and Newcastle), Government (AHVLA, IAH) and Industry. This award will be an important aspect of support to NEAT in the development of innovative material.

The Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI) is the federal research institute for animal health in Germany. It belongs to the portfolio of the German Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV). The work of the FLI focuses on the health and wellbeing of farm animals and the protection of humans from zoonoses. The FLI conducts basic and applied research covering different scientific fields including virology, bacteriology, parasitology, physiology, ethology, epidemiology, immunology, as well as related sciences.

MTT is the leading research institute in the fields of agriculture, food and agricultural economics in Finland. MTT’s work promotes animal health and welfare, consumer well-being, the competitiveness of the agriculture and food industry, the sustainable use of natural resources, the quality of production and living environment, and the vitality of the countryside. Research is conducted within five research themes permeating the entire organisation, which enables genuine multidisciplinary research and efficient problem-solving. MTT’s economic research domains include agricultural production systems management, commodity markets, business economics, accounting (FADN), agri-environmental and rural economics and policy. MTT is the leading unit carrying out economic research on animal health and welfare in Finland (in collaboration with national and international experts). The dissemination of information to stakeholders is the key activity in every project. It is a primary interest of MTT to promote higher education through PhD and Master Thesis projects.

The INP-ENVT is one of the four French veterinary school. It has a strong tradition of excellence in education with an interest in economics related to animal health. This reflects in the existence of a teaching unit entitled ‘animal production, economics, avian and swine pathology’ that delivers training at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, but also in the presence of a teacher/researcher linked to an INRA (Institut National de Recherche Agronomique) unit dedicated to economics, and finally in the recent appointment of research assistants in population medicine and one in swine medicine, both involved in projects with an important economical component to be delivered.

The Veterinary School of Bologna was founded in 1876, as the result of teaching and research activities started in 1784 in the context of the Bologna School of Medicine. The Faculty (www.vwt.unibo.it) in now articulated in three Departments (Veterinary Medicine, Morphophysiology and Livestock Farming, Veterinary Public Health and Animal Diseases), supported by specific teaching and research structures (the Veterinary Hospital, the Abattoir, the Experimental Animal Centre, the Centre of Artificial Insemination of different animal breeds). Late during the 90’ the Aquaculture and Fish Production Safety branch was created in Cesenatico (http://www.acquacoltura.unibo.it/). The Faculty provides several bachelor courses (Veterinary Medicine, Aquaculture and Fish Production Safety, Animal Biotechnology, Animal Production Quality and Safety, Animal Production and Wildlife Control), specialisation courses for professional veterinarians (Animal Food Control; Pet Pathology and Clinical Medicine; Animal Safety Breeding and Animal Production) and post graduate (PhD) courses. A web site aimed at collecting all the teaching materials for the students has recently been implementes (http://portaledidatticovet.unibo.it/). The Faculty has been certified by the European Association of Establishments of Veterinary Education (EAEVE) and complies with CE Dir. 78/1027 and 78/1028, and EU 2005/36.

Wageningen University is part of Wageningen UR alliance. The strength of Wageningen UR lies in its ability to join the forces of specialised research institutes, Wageningen University and Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences. It also lies in the combined efforts of the various fields of natural and social sciences. This union of expertise leads to scientific breakthroughs that can quickly be put into practice and be incorporated into education. Issues within the Wageningen domain are almost never exclusively natural, technical or social by nature. There are usually multiple, synergetic, approaches and possible solutions. Wageningen UR therefore fosters the unique interaction between the natural and social sciences. Both sets of disciplines are part of a coherent package of research, education and services.
Within Wageningen UR, Wageningen University is carrying out academic teaching and research within five departments: Social sciences, environmental sciences, agrotechnology and food sciences, animal sciences and plant sciences. For the seventh consecutive year, the Dutch study guide Keuzegids has concluded that Wageningen University is the best university in the Netherlands. ‘Wageningen leaves its competitors even further behind than in previous years’, writes the Information Centre for Higher Education (CHOI), publisher of the ‘Keuzegids Universiteiten 2012’.

The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Zagreb is the only college of its kind in the country and one of the oldest faculties in the region. Since its establishment in 1919, the Faculty has particularly devoted its organised educational and scientific activity to the training of rising generations of veterinary medicine and animal health professionals and scientists. In this sense, the Faculty has many years of experience in the organisation and the delivery of undergraduate, postgraduate scientific and specialist studies as well as continuing professional education courses. In addition, scientific research and professional and clinical work in specialist clinics play an important role. Among the Faculty’s central activities is education in the field of veterinary animal health economics for students, veterinarians, and other professions working in animal practice. In the frame of syllabus of doctor of veterinary medicine, two compulsory courses (Veterinary economics – more than 40 years) and Veterinary epidemiology (new course, introduced in 2003) are offered. The main goal of these courses is to provide students with an education in the field of animal health economics and epidemiology.

The Norwegian School of Veterinary Science is the only veterinary school in Norway and plays a key role in the teaching and research of veterinary science in the country. Within the school, the Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics has a leading position in teaching and research in epidemiology, statistical analyses, clinical trials and bioinformatics, with disease control as an overarching activity. Recently the Centre has expanded and also taken up animal disease control within an economic perspective, focusing on animal health economics related to the huge fish farm industry in Norway. NEAT will be run through the Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, with Dr Karl Rich as the scientific coordinator and Prof Eystein Skjerve as the institutionally responsible for the project. Organised as a vet school project, the school administration is responsible for the economy of the project and auditing system under the Office of the Auditor General of Norway.

ONIRIS is a State organisation for higher education and research in Veterinary Science, Food Industry and Food Science. Among the 4 academic organisations in France in charge of the initial and continuing education in veterinary medicine and veterinary science, ONIRIS especially develops training for health professionals in farm animal health, in population medicine and in veterinary public health. Besides initial training, it has developed integrated continuing education programmes specialised in cattle, swine or poultry health management, and in veterinary public health management. In these courses, advanced technical knowledge and economic concepts and methods are developed. Research is conducted in farm animal health management, especially in epidemiology and animal health economics, in food science, and in the biomedical sector.

Founded in 1993, the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Thessaly is the second and youngest veterinary faculty in Greece. It is located in the centre of the largest agricultural area of the country, the Perfecture of Thessaly. The majority of its academic staff has been educated in European and American Universities, and is young and dedicated to excellence in education and innovations in teaching material. The undergraduate curriculum includes core courses in Veterinary Epidemiology and Animal Health Economics. Furthermore, applications of the subjects are also taught within the Clinical courses. The staff of the Laboratory of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Animal Health Economics actively participates in national and international research projects on population medicine and public health.

The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Budapest is the only veterinary school in Hungary. It is accredited to issue diplomas of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM), BSc in Biology and PhD in veterinary sciences. In addition, the Faculty has a fundamental role in teaching in the course of MSc in biology. Since 1989, international students have been continuously enrolled in the faculty. A full veterinary program has been instituted and is offered in English with the pre-clinical section also in German. Students from 37 countries of the Globe take part in the foreign language education. The Faculty has an uninterrupted teaching record for more than two centuries, making it one of the oldest veterinary schools in the world. The autonomous University of Veterinary Medicine integrated as a Faculty of Veterinary Medicine into Szent István University in 2000. Teaching economics has been playing an important role at the Faculty since 1946, when the Department of Agricultural Economics was established. At its successor, the Department of State Veterinary Medicine and Agricultural Economics, agricultural economics, animal health economics and veterinary practice management has been taught since the early 1990s as obligatory courses to undergraduate and postgraduate veterinary students.

The Veterinary Faculty of Ankara University, established in 1842, is the oldest faculty in Turkey. It has a strong tradition of excellence in education and research relevant to veterinary sciences. The department of Animal health economics was established in 1969 and comprises 3 professors, 1 associate professor, 1 research assistant and over 15 PhD and MSc students. The main activity areas are: economics of animal health, livestock policy and livestock production economics.

The Inverness based Epidemiology Research Unit is focused on improving and maintaining animal population health and welfare by integrating a range of sciences including epidemiology and economics, to develop our understanding of animal disease control. It works closely with LEERG based in Edinburgh focused on social, economic and environmental research on agriculture and wider rural issues with a full-time staff equivalent of 30. The eight veterinary disease surveillance centres within SAC employ over 20 veterinary surgeons who have the backing of some 100 scientific and support staff.

The Public Health Pool (PHP) is an Austrian association founded in 2007 by students and young professionals from the Veterinary University in Vienna with the overall goal to facilitate the exchange of knowledge for people interested in VPH and to improve the students’ level of information about educational and occupational possibilities in VPH. As such, PHP’s aims and objectives are to:

• Offer access to specific education programs by promoting networks and scholarships
• Identify and help to establish working areas in the field of VPH (e.g. veterinary epidemiology)
• Strengthen the importance of veterinary medicine in the field of Public Health
• Enhance interdisciplinary exchange with related disciplines of veterinary medicine
• Identify educational demands within VPH in Austria
• Encourage students and graduates with interest in public health
• Share structures and resources with co-operating partners

In order to achieve these objectives, PHP offers its members:

• Information on further education at the national and international level
• Personal and professional networks among the PHP members and co-operating partners
• Traineeships open to motivated and committed students
• Lectures on current topics
• Pool Letters offering the latest information
• “Pool – Runde“, Get-togethers in a relaxed atmosphere to exchange ideas
• Possibilities to actively create new opportunities in the field of the PHP

CIRAD is an agricultural research organisation working with developing countries to tackle international agricultural and development issues. Training, dissemination of information and knowledge sharing naturally serve to complement its research mandate. Around thirty collective research and training tools are accessible to partners. Researchers with a specific interest in economics related to livestock belong to different research units with a majority found in the Environments and Societies department. They have a different and complementary background being either pure economists, agro-economists or epidemiologist with a specialisation in animal health economics acquired either through an academic degree or an experience with economic or financial evaluations. Expertise and training in animal health economics or more generally related to livestock is delivered though master programmes including an economic component built in partnership with French veterinary schools and universities or under a format tailored to answer a specific command in Europe or internationally.

The Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie (IZSVe) is a public veterinary Institute located in Legnaro (PD) which conducts prevention, control and research activities in three main areas: animal health and welfare, food safety, and environmental protection. The mission of the IZSVe is the preservation of public health, in terms of food safety and preventing zoonoses, and animal welfare, with respect to animal health and living conditions. The IZSVe promotes public health, guarantees that controls are performed on the food-production chain, and fosters improved coexistence between human beings and animals. This is achieved by focusing on four main areas:

• Control of foodborne pathogens
• Prevention and control of animal diseases
• Technical and scientific research
• Training and communication

The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine is a public Institution of Higher Education, integrated in the Technical University of Lisbon, whose mission is to develop, apply and communicate veterinary science and education for the benefit of society, through education and research. Our Faculty has been evaluated by EAEVE and has been approved since 1978. Research activities at FMV are carried out within the Interdisciplinary Centre for Research in Animal Health (CIISA), comprising 138 researchers, 70 of which PhD holders. The modern societies are increasingly confronted with animal health and welfare related issues with considerable impact upon global economy and public health. Social claims for the development of novel environmental sustainable systems for animal production and agriculture are justifiably increasing. CIISA is in a privileged situation to study the main aspects related to animal health and production, considering the multidisciplinarity of its research team and the broad cooperation with national and international institutions. CIISA has been evaluated as Very Good by the FCT International panel, reflecting its performance and the quality of research. Indicators such as publications in international referred journals and the external funding of projects such as ASFRisk (7th Framework Programme) show that CIISA pursues high quality fundamental and applied research in the various fields related to animal sciences.

The ANSVSA organises the sanitary veterinary and food safety activity of Romania. These activities include defending the health of animals, preventing the transmission of diseases from animals to humans, control food safety of animal and non-animal origin intended for human consumption, sanitation of animal fodder, releasing veterinary health laws and the protection of the environment. Assuring the institutional and judicial framework, financial resources as well as technical and material basis for developing sanitary veterinary activities are central assignments of the ANSVSA. Another important activity of the ANSVSA is monitoring the trade of animals, animal products, semen, embryos, ova and animal byproducts.

Founded by the National Council in 1949, the University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Košice is the only institution in the Slovak Republic offering higher education in the veterinary field. Its core mission is to provide higher undergraduate and postgraduate veterinary education on the basis of creative scientific research in the field of veterinary science and pharmacy.

The mission of the Veterinary Faculty (VF) of the University of Ljubljana is to assure animal and public health welfare through food safety and the prevention of spreading of zoononotic diseases. By assuring excellence in its institutes, clinics and testing laboratories, and through its research and professional activities in the field of animal health care, the VF is on its way to become an internationally recognised and leading veterinary institution, particularly in central and south-eastern Europe and the western Balkan area. In 2001, the VF has established the National Veterinary Institute (NVI) as an internal unit of the VF. The NVI performs activities of the state veterinary service and is in charge of laboratory diagnostics to control animal diseases and hygiene of food of animal origin and suitability of feed. The NVI performs the duties of approved laboratories and national reference laboratories, it is responsible for health protection of bees and fish, and it performs risk assessments for special situations and is involved in other activities that are defined by veterinary regulations.

Recognised by the Ministry of Education as an International Campus of Excellence, the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) offers degrees in a variety of fields of knowledge provided by a number of departments and research centres. The high quality of education is guaranteed by more than 6,000 teachers who have been appointed through a stringent selection process and by some 4,000 administration and service staff. Safeguarding this quality includes the continuous training of teaching and research staff and exchange agreements with other universities worldwide. It also means an IT infrastructure designed to facilitate remote access to many services, immediately on registration, and to the Virtual Campus which includes all twenty six of the UCM centres. The Library has the most important collection of any Spanish university. The Veterinary Health Surveillance Center (VISAVET) is an international Centre for Animal Health Research of the UCM located in the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. VISAVET is a team of professionals with over 20 years experience in Animal Health and Food Safety. The main goals of VISAVET are focused on Research and Education, linked to the transfer of technology and assessment activities. The expertise areas of VISAVET include Epidemiology, Preventive Medicine, Immunology, and Microbiology.

The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, is the only one within the sector in Sweden. The combination of veterinary medicine and animal science provides an excellent opportunity for multidisciplinary research and education. The Faculty has recently formed LEARN (Livestock Education and Research Network), capitalising on the excellent farm animal research facilities, aiming at an increased collaboration between the University and farm animal and food industry. The Faculty has teaching and research groups working on population medicine, veterinary public health and animal welfare, where economics is an important component.

Key activities:
The Institute of Veterinary Public Health (VPHI) is a unique Institution based on a strategic partnership between the University of Bern and the Federal Veterinary Office of Switzerland. It is part of the University of Bern Veterinary School (Vetsuisse Faculty). This collaboration between academia and veterinary services shall contribute substantially towards animal health and food safety, thus improving public health in Switzerland. Major tasks of the VPHI include applied research in epidemiology, monitoring, surveillance, animal health economics and risk assessment, with a focus on animal health and zoonoses. The Institute’s goal is to develop expertise in animal welfare that complements the portfolio of Swiss institutions already active in animal welfare research (such as the Centres for Proper Housing and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), and networking with other institutions active in this field. Tasks include the performance of risk assessments on request by the Federal Veterinary Office, postgraduate education of veterinarians and professionals of related disciplines in the area of VPH (vet. med. Dissertations, PhD, Post Doc; ECVPH Residency) and collaboration with a broad range of partners within Switzerland and abroad, as well as contribution to the work of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) mainly on the topics animal health, animal welfare and zoonoses.

SAFOSO is a consulting and capacity building company. We work with international organisations, governments, industries, private companies, consumer groups and academic institutions – whichever are the relevant stakeholders. Together with stakeholders we work towards achieving the common global goals of animal health and welfare, consumer protection through safe food, and sustainable trade of animal-derived food products.

ACCEL assists organisations in EU project management and the dissemination and exploitation of results. With its experienced staff, ACCEL has over 15 years experience in EU and nationally funded projects in the life sciences, ICT, energy, and the environment. As a facilitator of virtual communication tools and team working, ACCEL uses the following project-specific tools:

• Document Management System (knowledge tree / typo3)
• Content Management System (typo3)
• Web conferencing tool (GoToMeeting)
• Access to various IT tools and platforms

ACCEL is also involved as a partner or subcontractor in several FP7 projects.

Defra’s remit includes food, the environment and rural issues including animal health and disease. The Food and Farming group, formed in 2007, is concerned with delivering environmental, economic and health benefits by developing new relationships and ways of working that enable food and farming to manage risk, connect with markets and assure the safety and sustainable impact of our food supply system. Specifically the Animal health and welfare (AHW) theme group ensure that policy on animal health and welfare takes full account of economic and statistical analysis. The three major areas of concern for the team are Responsibility and Cost Sharing, Bovine TB and Exotic Animal Disease Policy: New threat and responses.

The Department of veterinary medicine of the Freie Universität Berlin is one of the five centres of veterinary research and education in Germany. The Institute of animal nutrition and the unit International animal health are part of the activities. The Department of Veterinary Medicine offers all relevant analytical methods that are required for biological and laboratory nutritional research including the facilities and techniques for feed processing and production. Main activities of the institute of animal nutrition are nutritional studies and the impact of feed composition and feed additives on the intestinal microflora and the gut associated immune system in pigs and poultry. The laboratory equipment allows performing basic nutritional research as well as a broad range of cultural and molecular microbiological techniques. The unit International Animal Health is the executing institution for all international postgraduate training programmes at the Department of Veterinary Medicine. Over the past few decades, the veterinary profession worldwide is confronted with major changes and constraints: rapid intensification of livestock production systems are challenging the profession, food safety and export regulations are becoming increasingly strict due to the globalisation of international trade, emerging trans-boundary diseases pose unknown threats, and animal-environment interactions are aggravated by production practices and calls are out for a ‘one health’ strategy. The Department plays an important role in tackling these challenges.

The department DSR works in close cooperation with the Institute of Veterinary Public Health at the Veterinary University of Vienna. The core research domains of the DSR are research in various fields of analytical epidemiology (especially disease modelling, simulation of spatio-temporal phenomena and risk based surveillance), cost-benefit and risk -benefit studies. The department provides technical and scientific assistance to government and private companies in the development of policies, guidelines, operational research and strategies for the surveillance and control of animal diseases.

The faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Ghent University is one of the two faculties of Veterinary medicine in Belgium, with a strong tradition in pursuing excellence and innovation in teaching. The veterinary epidemiology unit is a growing research division within the faculty with an increasing international recognition on the work on veterinary public health related issues, such as epidemic disease control and prevention and control of zoonotic diseases. In recent years, the focus has been shifting more and more from control to prevention with an emphasis on the importance of biosecurity in animal production. In this research, also economical aspects are strongly included. The training of undergraduate and postgraduate students in animal health economics has also evolved lately from purely agricultural economics towards the economics of animal health.

The Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE) is the European umbrella organisation for veterinarians in Europe. Founded in 1975, FVE now represents 46 national veterinary organisations in 38 European countries, including all 27 EU Member States. FVE also includes 4 international Sections, each of which represents key groups within the veterinary profession: practitioners (UEVP), hygienists (UEVH), state veterinary officers (EASVO) and veterinarians in education, research and industry (EVERI). Through its member organisations, FVE represents more than 200.000 veterinarians throughout Europe. The mission of FVE is to promote animal health, animal welfare and public health across Europe. Together with its members, FVE aims to support veterinarians in delivering their professional responsibilities at the best possible level, recognised and valued by society. It strives to create the right conditions for veterinarians to carry out the tasks society has conferred to them: to care for animal health and welfare as well as for veterinary public health. Website: www.fve.org

The Institute of Biology and Immunology of Reproduction was founded in 1938 and is a scientific research base for artificial insemination and other assisted reproductive techniques of farm animals. A major task is to improve these animals’ genetic potential and the application of cryo conservation as an approach to increase the efficiency of reproductive potential of selected elite breeders from different animal species. Another aspect of the Institute’s work is immunology, including the role of antibodies against gamete antigens, the role of local and systemic immune response and the involvement of immunomodulatory molecules and immunocompetent cells in the reproductive process, implantation and pregnancy. The institute is also involved in the education of undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD students.

The Danish Agriculture and Food Council represents almost all farmers and most of the businesses in the agricultural and food sector in Denmark. The Department of Food Safety and Veterinary Issues conducts epimiological research, risk assessments and cost-benefit analyses in food safety and animal disease issues. The goal is to make food safety and animal disease decisions based on a sound scientific background, and including economic analyses as an integrated part of the decision process. The department collaborates with universities in Denmark and abroad in research in relevant areas, and is also involved in several PhD projects at Danish universities.