IVCMEP 2023 students from Zambia visited Hokkaido

IVCMEP hosted the 2023 IVCMEP students for two weeks from 7/17-7/28. A total of four graduate students from the University of Zambia’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Faculty of Education traveled to Hokkaido to participate in a wide range of activities on conservation medicine.

 At Hokkaido University, the students took classes jointly with Hokkaido University students and acquired knowledge of conservation medicine and basic skills to put it into practice through research and social activities. To mention a few, there was a workshop on communication with people from different fields of expertise and positions, some lectures on environmental toxicology, and practical exercises on the use of GIS.For a field study, students went to at Toyoha Mine in Sapporo. The participants visited a tailings dam and wastewater treatment facility, which are continuously managed by a company after the mine closure and observed the private sector’s efforts in environmental conservation.

In addition, during a 3-day field trip to the East Hokkaido area, students visited the Institute for Raptor Biomedicine Japan in Kushiro City and Shiretoko National Park to learn about the natural environment that differs from that of Zambia and the conflicts between humans and animals that arise there, while also observing forests and wildlife in the field. In the last part of the program, students were assigned to laboratory rotations according to their expertise, where they had the opportunity to communicate closely with faculty members and learn independently about research using state-of-the-art facilities and cross-disciplinary and international research projects.

More comprehensive report will be made in a due time and we are lookin forward to sharing it.