Research output, 2008 Faculty of Vet Science, UP

Research highlights 2008: Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria

(from the Dean's report, OPNews, Winter 2008)

The research programme of the faculty again showed steady growth over the past year. It represents the highest research output this faculty has ever had. The subsidy units earned from the Department of Education for publications increased from 46.13 in 2006 to 55.71 in 2007 and65.31 in 2008. Over the past year it representsa growth of 18%, and the subsidy per academic staff member of 0.65 is getting closer to the UP goal of 1.0. Noteworthy is the fact that again all the faculty’s publications were in the higher category of ISI-accredited journals. In terms of funding, the increase in subsidy earned translated into an increase in the research allocation fromR553 560 in 2006 to R1 044 960 in 2008 (growth of almost 100%).
There was a substantial increase in the number of postgraduate students from 168 in2006 to 250 in 2008, accompanied by an increase in the funding available for postgraduate bursaries from R254 454 in 2007 to R367 422 in 2008. The number of rated academic staff members increased from 14 in 2006 to 16 in 2007.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT**To formalise and make community involvementpart of the formal undergraduate and postgraduate training of the faculty, a long-term programme has been developed over the last two years.This programme involved the Mnisi TraditionalAuthority, the Directorate of Veterinary Services of the Mpumalanga Department of Agriculture and Land Affairs, and the Institute for TropicalMedicine, Antwerp, Belgium, and will officiallycommence in October 2008.