JENNIFER TIDBALL
K-State News and Communications Services
Kansas State University, Iowa State University and University College Dublin are building veterinary medicine partnerships and creating global academic and research collaborations among the three organizations.
The presidents of all three universities — Kansas State University President Richard Linton, Iowa State University President Wendy Wintersteen and University College Dublin President Orla Feely — signed a Memorandum of Cooperation and Understanding on Friday, Aug. 22, at the One Health Ag Tech Summit in Ireland.
The agreement among the three universities focuses on building academic exchange, cooperation and collaboration with the veterinary medicine colleges at each institution.
"This partnership will provide tremendous value to our College of Veterinary Medicine," said Beth Davis, interim dean of K-State's College of Veterinary Medicine. "As a next-generation land-grant university, forging important partnerships like this helps our K-State veterinary medicine students, researchers and faculty members to do good in Kansas and across the world. We look forward to working with our collaborators at Iowa State University and University College Dublin."
The signing event and One Health Ag Tech Summit are connected with the Aer Lingus College Football Classic, which will occur Saturday, Aug. 23, when the K-State football team faces Iowa State in the season kickoff game.
The academic exchange agreement focuses on promoting the teaching and research activities of each institution while also deepening the understanding of the economic, cultural and social environment of each institution.
"Today's agreement signing is the culmination of highly valued collaborative efforts from all institutions involved to further enhance the educational experience for our students," said University College Dublin President Orla Feely.
Dan Grooms, the Dr. Stephen G. Juelsgaard Dean of Veterinary Medicine at Iowa State, said the opportunity for collaboration on a global level is vital for addressing issues such as antimicrobial resistance.
"Antimicrobial resistance impacts animals, humans, the environment and plants. There are valuable perspectives that come from conversations with people around the world to understand how we combat antimicrobial resistance," Grooms said. "The practicalities of what can and cannot be done are different in other countries, which is why we must think of this at a global level."
Through the newly formed partnership, the three organizations are exploring many ways to collaborate, including:
• Promoting institutional exchanges by inviting faculty and staff to participate in a variety of teaching and research activities as well as professional development.
• Receiving undergraduate and graduate students for periods of study and research.
• Organizing coordinated teaching activities.
• Organizing symposia, conferences, short courses and other meetings on academic and research issues.
• Carrying out joint research and continuing education programs.
• Exchanging information related to developments in teaching, student development and research at each institution.
"Having College of Veterinary Medicine students visit University College Dublin and learn about veterinary medicine in a well-established program and understand the profession in a different culture will greatly benefit our students," Davis said. "Additionally, having students from University College Dublin or Iowa State visit K-State will build on our ability to exchange knowledge and skills that are well established throughout our curriculum, particularly in the fourth-year clinical rotation."
The partnership agreement signing was part of the One Health Ag Tech Summit, an international event hosted by Enterprise Ireland. The summit is from Aug. 20-23 and has brought together nearly 90 researchers, faculty members, industry leaders and innovative entrepreneurs from the U.S. and Ireland. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds have also participated in the summit.
The summit has highlighted the three universities — Kansas State University, Iowa State University and University College Dublin — and focused on shared interests and emerging opportunities in the fields of agricultural technology/digital agriculture and One Health. One Health is a multidisciplinary approach that recognizes the interconnected health of people, animals, plants and their shared environments.
Throughout the four-day summit, participants have engaged in meaningful dialogue, facilitated expert knowledge exchange and cultivated long-term partnerships.
"Our goal through the One Health Ag Tech Summit is to drive industry progress by building collaboration and advancing innovation," said Rachelle Banwart, executive director of K-State Corporate Engagement. "We wanted to highlight the connections between academia and industry and also bring our next-generation land-grant university mission into action: creating new ways to engage with partners and companies across the world."
The One Health Ag Tech Summit has also included roundtable discussions and industry panels, connections among leading industry representatives and academic researchers, relevant industry site visits, and best practice sharing and partnership exploration.
Several Kansas State University leaders and researchers have participated in the events, including:
• Marshall Stewart, executive vice president for external engagement and chief of staff
• Hans Coetzee, vice president for research
• Michael Apley, professor of production medicine and clinical pharmacology and Edwin J. Frick Chair in Veterinary Medicine
• Ajay Sharda, university outstanding scholar and Terry Beemer Foundation Chair for Engineering Innovation in the Carl and Melinda Helwig Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering
• Charles Rice, university distinguished professor of agronomy
"K-State is a global leader in animal health and digital agriculture, and our researchers bring unparalleled expertise in these growing industry areas," said Hans Coetzee, K-State vice president for research. "The One Health Ag Tech Summit has been a wonderful opportunity to showcase the innovative work our teams are contributing in these critical industries on an international level as well as to form new partnerships and opportunities for future collaborations."