Presentation

The creation of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine was published in the Official Bulletin of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands (BOC) on October 17, 1986, depending at that time on the University of La Laguna.

Initially, the study plan for the Veterinary Degree, valid until the year 2000, was published in the BOE on September 30, 1991. Subsequently, the study plan was modified and published in the BOE on January 20, 2000. In the 2010/11 academic year, the Degree in Veterinary Medicine was launched (published in the BOE on October 3, 2011). Since the 2010/11 academic year, the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine has also taught the Master's Degree in Veterinary Clinic and Therapeutic Research (published in the BOE on March 31, 2012).

As it is a profession regulated at a European level (initially Directive 78/1027/EEC and modified by the Directive 2005/36/EU) the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, as a member of the European Association of Veterinary Education Establishments (EAEVE) is subject to periodic evaluations in order to ensure that the teaching complies with the provisions of the European Directive. Thus, after a first evaluation in the year 2000, the positive evaluation by the EAEVE initially took place in the year 2009.

The launch of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the beginning of 1987 was a response to the need to provide our autonomous community with a university center that would facilitate the comprehensive training of future veterinarians. Initially integrated as a center belonging to the University of La Laguna, it became part of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in September 1989, after the creation of this University. The initial headquarters of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine was located in the Zárate neighborhood of the capital for, from the end of the 90s of the century
past, settling in the Cardones Campus, located in the municipality of Arucas.

The European Association of Veterinary Education Establishments (EAEVE) has as its
The basic objective is to establish sufficient and uniform levels of teaching quality in the centers that teach Veterinary education, in accordance with the requirements established in the European directive regulating Veterinary studies (Directive 1978/1027 EEC, currently replaced by Directive 2005/ 36 EU). The EAEVE, to ensure this homogeneity of the teachings, as well as of the competences and abilities that the graduates must present, carries out periodic evaluation processes, which have currently been defined every 6 years. In this evaluation process, minimum but demanding standards are defined regarding the requirements and nature of the teaching that must be developed, addressing both teaching, research, administrative and management aspects. After the re-evaluation process of our center, which ended in June 2021, the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Las Palmas has acquired the status of an accredited center, fully joining the group of European Veterinary Faculties with a positive evaluation, maintaining this status until 2026. year that will be submitted to a new evaluation process.

Although this objective has been achieved, this positive evaluation should only be one more objective within a much more ambitious project, in order to establish a Faculty that far exceeds all the recommendations and ratios that the evaluation procedure demands of us, which is just try one more merit. This evaluation procedure, already fully integrated, allows our center to become familiar with the monitoring and control protocols, making it evident to extend and strengthen that culture of effort, quality and excellence towards all the processes specified in the Quality Assurance System of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.

Currently, there are 9 public Veterinary Faculties in our country, while another 4
Private universities teach the Veterinary Degree in the national territory. The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is the only university center that offers the Degree in Veterinary Medicine in our University community, with a high demand that quadruples the places offered each year.

The ULPGC Faculty of Veterinary Medicine must have as its fundamental axis the training of professionals who adequately respond to the demands of society. In this way, our center is responsible for the training of those professionals who are going to carry out their activity in the sectors of medicine and animal health, sanitary control and the production of animals in livestock, farms and fish farms. Another function of basic importance is the hygiene and inspection of food of animal origin as well as the agri-food sector. We cannot ignore our insular reality and the importance of the marine environment, in matters basically related to animal health. The need to train veterinarians to carry out their tasks in animal recovery and protection centers, farm-schools and zoos are also among our obligations, gaining even more strength with the recent approval of the Law for the Protection of the Rights and Well-being of animals (Law 7/2023, March 28, 2023). Finally, specialized postgraduate training must be guaranteed, as well as providing quality services to Canarian society, through the offer of assistance services that must be cutting-edge and of public utility.

The basic axis of its general policy for the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine is the regulated organization of teaching, sufficiently establishing the teaching-learning and administrative processes, managing the necessary and sufficient resources to ensure adequate levels of teaching and research, as is included in the Quality Assurance System (SGC). For this, it will act:

• Guaranteeing that the SGC remains effective, establishing controls and reviews on a regular basis.
• Promoting continuous improvement in each of the services and procedures through the formulation of specific objectives and their periodic review through the analysis of the results and proposing, and carrying out, the corrective and preventive actions that may be necessary.

The Veterinary School of Las Palmas must show an ambitious vision as a veterinary education platform with a marked international character. Vision closely related to the European Space for Higher Education (EHEA) that began its construction, already fully consolidated, more than 25 years ago. In the specific case of our University and given its specific geographical situation, we must promote the internalization of our Faculty, with the basic objective of implementing the competitiveness of our graduates outside our environment. It must be the center of reference for teaching, research and provision of services as the southern border of Europe and as a bridge to Africa and Latin America. And we must work to maximize the advantages offered by this circumstance and try to limit or overcome the limitations that may be implicit.

The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine identifies with the institutional values of the ULPGC, such as the search for excellence in teaching, research, institutional management and the provision of services. In the same way, the democratic participation of all levels, transparency in management, accountability and the promotion of international relations and the development of the tricontinental vocation. Essential values are the defense of equity and equal opportunities, regardless of gender, race or religious orientation, respect for ideas in freedom, intercultural coexistence and social justice.

Other values of the ULPGC that are particularly relevant in our Faculty are those related to improving environmental quality and sustainable development in the Canary Islands, as well as defending animal welfare. The management team of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine acquires the firm commitment to guarantee and improve the quality of the center, carrying out all those actions necessary to guarantee the values described, with a continuous analysis of the needs and expectations, both in the short and long term, of the different interest groups.

1. Provide training aimed at excellence, guaranteeing an academic offer in accordance with the demand of society.
2. Promote structures that guarantee the academic, professional and personal training of students to make them capable of adapting to their professional environment at all times in accordance with the needs and changes experienced by society.
3. Organize and promote actions that guide and promote the training of teachers and students in the academic and professional field, stimulating the acquisition of the necessary training of teachers for the continuous updating and improvement of teaching.
4. Achieve continuous improvement in the management of the services provided and promote the improvement of resources (equipment and facilities), with special attention to the indicators of the EAEVE, biosafety and animal welfare.
5. Encourage the participation of students in mobility programs (national/international), promoting the internationalization of teaching, as well as promoting all those actions that translate into an improvement in the academic results of students.
6. Encourage the culture of quality and the involvement of all interest groups in the Faculty by continuously improving the dissemination and communication processes of the SGC and its results.