The University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine (USAMV) in Cluj-Napoca announced a partnership with the British organisation The Donkey Sanctuary, which has launched the GEKEC (Global Equine Knowledge and Education Centre) project, giving Romanian students and veterinarians access to a comprehensive, structured and evidence-based curriculum dedicated exclusively to donkeys.
'The project is implemented by USAMV Cluj-Napoca through Associate Professor Alexandra Nicoleta Muresan from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, who is the first ECEIM (European College of Equine Internal Medicine) diplomate in Romania. Through the GEKEC project, 31 students from all study lines (Romanian, English, French) are already attending courses covering four essential areas: donkey behaviour and welfare, clinical examination, hoof care and dentistry. Each course is organised in progressive modules, from basic notions to complex clinical scenarios,' the university said in a press release on Thursday.
Students began courses in March, initially online, covering the same four core areas: donkey behaviour and welfare, clinical examination, hoof care and dentistry. Each course is structured in progressive modules, from basic knowledge to complex clinical scenarios, and is also supported by specialists from the United Kingdom.
According to the source, the collaboration with The Donkey Sanctuary is not new but has developed over time based on a solid professional partnership, naturally leading to the selection of USAMV Cluj-Napoca as the implementation centre for this large-scale educational initiative.
'Romania is among the European countries with one of the most active donkey milk industries. Donkey milk, recognised for its nutritional properties and increasingly used in niche cosmetic and food products, has turned this discreet species into an animal of real and growing economic value. However, until recently, veterinary medicine dedicated to donkeys remained an almost non-existent field in Romania, a gap we set out to address. GEKEC means that a student in Cluj can now learn what peers in the United Kingdom or the Netherlands have been studying for years. A donkey is not a small horse. It has its own physiology and different responses to pain, medication and stress. Treating them like horses puts them at risk,' Alexandra Nicoleta Muresan said.
In October, USAMV Cluj-Napoca will host the Congress of the European College of Equine Internal Medicine (ECEIM), with The Donkey Sanctuary as an active partner in the event.
British specialists in donkey medicine will deliver a lecture within the main programme, hold a workshop for ECEIM residents and take part in Specialists' Day, a clear sign that donkey medicine has secured its place within the highest European equine medical forum
Comentează