Veterinary Business

Lyon Veterinary School is ‘Top Dog’ in Hill’s Vet School Challenge

vetreportDecember 2, 2015

Students understand nutrition is important for every pet, every time

VetAgro Sup Lyon Veterinary School in France has emerged triumphant in a contest involving 37 European Veterinary Schools in Hill’s Pet Nutrition’s annual ‘Top Dog’ Challenge.

Students from participating veterinary schools tested their knowledge of small animal clinical nutrition across three rounds. For the final round, each of the ten finalist schools sent their highest performing student as a Travelling Ambassador to the Southern European Veterinary Conference (SEVC) in Barcelona, Spain, in October, to take part in the grand final. These Travelling Ambassadors also attended the ISFM Pre-Congress feline medicine symposium, which focused on the co-morbidities of feline obesity, including lower urinary tract problems.

Brice Lamy, a second-year student and Travelling Ambassador for VetAgro Sup Lyon Veterinary School, won the grand prize during the ‘Top Dog’ Dinner on 15 October. He was presented with €5,000, which is to be spent on student activities at VetAgro Sup.

Lamy said:  “I’m very interested in nutrition because I think it can play a key role in preventing the incidence of disease, as well as helping sick animals recover.  I couldn’t stop smiling when I found out I had won ‘Top Dog’.  I just didn’t believe it could be possible – but it was and we had a great celebration!  The  €5,000 will help our school in several areas, including exotic medicine.

“It was great to attend my first congress and to listen to vets from around the word discussing so many interesting topics.  I learned a great deal about veterinary medicine, surgery and nutrition. The Hill’s representatives looked after us very well and it was a great experience.”

Hill’s, a global leader in companion animal clinical nutrition, set up the ‘Top Dog’ Challenge to support the work of European veterinary schools and to encourage students to understand the importance of nutrition in optimizing the health of companion animals.

During Phase 1 of the contest, which was held in March 2015, students from the participating schools competed with their fellow classmates and answered multiple choice questions on small animal clinical nutrition.

In Phase 2, the top 25 students from each school answered further multiple choice questions on companion animal clinical nutrition. This time the students competed against the other schools.

The ten schools with the highest scores were announced as the finalists in June 2015, and the student with the highest score at each school was selected as a Travelling Ambassador to the SEVC. From these ten students, four were chosen at random to take part in the grand final, which took the form of a ‘Jeopardy’ game focussing on nutrition knowledge during the ‘Top Dog’ Dinner at SEVC.

Dr Iveta Becvarova, Director of Academic Affairs for Hill’s in Europe, said: “Veterinary students are the future of our profession, so we want to help them understand the importance of nutrition right from the start. The ‘Top Dog’ contest is a great way for them to demonstrate their knowledge, experience world-class continuing education and show their pride in their veterinary school. We congratulate all of the students who took part this year – and particularly Brice, who was a worthy winner.”