The University of the Azores may open a full veterinary medicine course at its Angra do Heroísmo campus next year.
“The course has already been approved by A3ES [Higher Education Evaluation and Accreditation Agency],” Alfredo Borba, president of the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of the Azores, confirmed to DI.
Currently, the course is already taught in Angra do Heroísmo, but only for the first two years. To prepare the entire course, the academy needs to have a veterinary hospital.
“It will be necessary to build the veterinary hospital and create the conditions for the course to start,” explained Alfredo Borba.
According to the dean, the course’s start date depends on the university administration, but “in principle, it will be next year.”
For now, A3ES’s approval “was an important step, but there is still a lot to be done,” admitted Alfredo Borba, adding that it will also be necessary to hire teachers for the course.
According to the college president, the veterinary degree “is hugely important for the campus because it attracts students, and for the region because it trains professionals.”
All places for the two preparatory years of the course were filled in the first phase of this academic year, and Alfredo Borba believes that the full course will also be in demand.
The region lacks veterinarians, but also agricultural and farming technicians, areas that are not in high demand among students, not only in the Azores, but in Europe. “Agriculture is not an area that is attracting many people, and Europe is making a great effort to attract young people to this area, which is a fundamental area, considered one of the pillars of the European economy,” said Alfredo Borba.

Four Pre-Vet Students from the University of the Azores who did a month-long intership at Fresno State, with one week at the Azores Veterinary Clinic in Turlock, owned by Azorean-American Dr. Ségio Pereira.


Lack of veterinarians
For the Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Food, António Ventura, the veterinary medicine course at the University of the Azores could fill a shortage of professionals in this area in the region.
“We have a shortage of veterinary technicians in the Azores, especially on some of the more remote islands. We need to strengthen our staff, both in regional administration and in the private sector,” he pointed out.
In public administration alone, there is a shortage of around 20 veterinarians, especially on the more remote islands, such as Santa Maria, Flores, and Corvo.
“It is with great effort on the part of the regional administration that we have managed to have veterinarians on these islands, and those that exist do not meet the needs of the entire service,” the official said.
The new veterinary hospital of the University of the Azores may be installed next to the Regional Veterinary Laboratory.
“Negotiations are underway between the University and the Regional Government for the transfer of the former veterinary laboratory building in Vinha Brava for the creation of the hospital,” revealed António Ventura.

In Diário Insular-José Lourenço-Director.

Translated into English as a community outreach program by the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL), in collaboration with Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno. PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.