Vetrise is a network that connects veterinary nursing students from across Europe to test their skills, build a network, improve their English and work together, supported by dedicated teachers and veterinarians form all over Europe.
Veterinary competitions are known for their Skills format. What sets VetRise apart is their focus on collaboration. While competitions often have an individual character, VetRise also wanted to focus on group assignments.
The first (pilot) competition took place in Coimbra Portugal in November 2024, the second competition was in November in Roeselare Belgium. In the following you can read an interesting report about the last competition.
(thanks to Ilse for this introduction)
Report Vetrise 2025 (text and pics by Ella Engels, a Belgian colleague from Roeselare)
DAY 1
Our first day of the VetRise Competition 2025:
What a wonderful start to the day!
We kicked things off with a warm welcome for all participating students and teachers. Thanks to VIVES, everyone received a lovely goodie bag, and of course, we captured the moment with some great group photos.
Next, Joke Monteny inspired us all with a fascinating lecture on animal behaviour, helping students gain deeper insight into “dog language” and the importance of truly understanding animal signals.
Earlier this week, the students collaboratively designed the logo for this year’s Vetrise competition. Today, they had the chance to print their very own design onto T-shirts—shirts they will proudly wear throughout the competition!
After a delicious lunch, the students teamed up in pairs to work on their group assignments. This year’s themes include dental care, spaying & neutering, obesity, and the management of elderly animals. Each team is challenged to create a poster, a brochure and a presentation on their topic.
The afternoon began with an offline brainstorm session—no devices allowed—encouraging creativity and focus. Afterwards, students explored relevant articles and books, which were printed and shared with them. From that point on, devices were set aside and the real writing work began.
omorrow, the students will continue their projects and present their final products.
We are excited to see the results of their hard work and dedication!
DAY 2
Another intense and wonderful day at VIVES Roeselare. In the morning, the students continued working collaboratively in pairs, resulting in four presentations on the four topics introduced the previous day: dental care, spaying and neutering, obesity, and senior animal care. The participants demonstrated both their mastery of the subject matter and their ability to address and empathise with pet owners, providing them with appropriate recommendations for each situation. Together, they make a great team! After lunch, our hosts treated us to a wonderful excursion to Bruges, complete with an escape room, to discover one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Despite the rain, we explored the city and solved the puzzles to find the hidden word. We enjoyed the game, the surroundings, and especially the people.
We continue to live this unforgettable experience where competition becomes an excuse to learn, connect, and have a great time.
Thank you for making us feel at home!
DAY 3
That’s a Wrap! Celebrating Our Final Challenge & Champions
The last day of the competition was an unforgettable one!
On the last day the students were faced with the final challenge that consisted of 4 different tasks. While performing them, they showed great professional skills and ability to communicate in a professional manner. Our students faced the final challenge, a rigorous test consisting of four different tasks. While performing them, they demonstrated great professional skills and a strong ability to communicate in a professional manner. Beyond that, we were impressed by the high level of knowledge shown, the excellent collaboration amongst the teams, and the great team spirit displayed throughout the entire competition.
Thereafter, to process the adrenaline of the event, we got an interesting lecture about the use of nutrition in the veterinary hospitalization setting thanks to our guest speaker from Royal Canin.
A Taste of Belgium!
We capped off the event with an engaging tasting experience at the local Rodenbach Brewery. Our guide told us everything about the typical Belgian beer and we ended by a tasting.
There-after, we enjoyed some typical Belgian cuisine and got to taste the famous stoofvlees with fries! This dish is typically prepared with beer, and in this case of course Rodenbach!
We ended the celebration with our closing ceremony.
Congratulations to the 2025 Competition winners:
• Group Assignment: Danique (Zone.college, NL) & Miša (BIC Ljubljana, SLO)
• Individual Assignment: Bente (Zone.college, NL)
This week wouldn’t have been possible without the dedication of the students’ mentors, the support of EUROPEA international and our incredible host, VIVES University of Applied Sciences! Lastly, we wish to thank our partner Europea International for the chances they created throughout this event! Thanks to their contribution we were able to live the international experience!
Stay tuned to find out which organization will host next year’s event!
