We support undergraduate vets and vet nurses to carry out research projects of 6-10 weeks, typically undertaken during university vacation periods. Grant funding for student research projects (SRPs) is provided to support a student stipend of £200/week and a consumables budget of up to £1200. The grant also offers the opportunity to practise presentation skills at BSAVA Congress by delivering a clinical abstract and receiving valuable constructive feedback.
These grants are extremely popular, and often inspire students with a lifelong love of research. Applications should be made by prospective supervisors but can involve the student. The grant call is open all year, with three cutoff dates of 31st January, 30th April and 31st August. For all cutoff points, we aim to have made a decision whether to fund within 6 weeks. This should allow for maximum flexibility to fit in with different institutional timetables.
Rosie Godfrey, Chair of the BSAVA PetSavers management committee, recorded a presentation for BSAVA Student Congress 2022, explaining all about how PetSavers can help introduce undergraduates to veterinary research and what students can do for PetSavers.
Alex Davies
As an undergraduate vet at the RVC, Alex carried out a retrospective analysis of feline lymphoma of the nervous system that was funded by BSAVA PetSavers.
Read our interview to Read what he found most rewarding about his study and how presenting at BSAVA Congress boosted his confidence and communication skills in our interview with him.
Listen to Alex talk about his passion for practice-based research as a primary care vet in this podcast.
Rebecca Verhoven
Harper Adams veterinary nursing student Becky Verhoven compared cotton wool and non-woven gauze swabs as materials to clean the pre-operative surgical site of ovariohysterectomies.
BSAVA Congress 2022
Vet students Sze Lynn Yuen from Cambridge vet school and Emily Blackwell from Liverpool University in the BSAVA members’ lounge before their abstract presentations