Our two Norwegian student bloggers give their perspective on their course - BSc (Hons) Animal Science!

Last time we discussed which student events to attend, now we will tell you a bit about what we are doing on a daily basis. As we have mentioned earlier we study Animal Science. There are many doors that are open in the animal industry after getting a degree in Animal Science and we both have different aspirations on what we will use our degree for.

Gerbil in the Titchmarsh Centre

In the first year of the course a lot of practical work is done, which will come handy later on in life, especially if you are looking at a career where you will do a lot of hands-on work, like working in a zoo or as a vet. This was one of the reasons we chose to study at Writtle College.






The most exciting module of the first year was Mammalian Anatomy and Physiology and the Comparative Anatomy and Physiology.



When we had lab sessions we had so much fun, we had dissections on every lab practical, which we personally think is when you learn the most. We both thought that we would be disgusted by the dissections as you get to look at some quite nasty stuff, but it is way more exciting than disgusting and makes up for it. If you want to work as a scientist later on in life the lab sessions are very important and would come in handy, also in the veterinarian profession as we study reproductive system, nervous system, digestive system and so on.  

Dissections are fun!



We are both very happy that we chose Writtle College because the academic experience at Writtle is very good! Not to mention our lecturers, they are very knowledgeable and that is something we admire. We think they are easy to talk to and you can have a laugh with them occasionally, which makes the university experience so much better.

 

 

As we study Animal Science and not Animal Management, as you expect we have modules which are science related such as Biochemistry in the first year and Animal Health Science and Reproduction and Genetics in the second year. They can be a bit challenging but they are also a lot of fun and very interesting. Take Reproduction and Genetics as an example, we learn about Mendel and the pea plant which is recap for a lot of people who have done biology before, but when we take that to the next level and start to look at several traits that are inheritable, it becomes very interesting and fun to do. 

We are both looking forward to next year, our last and final year of our degree. It is exciting and scary at the same time, especially thinking about our dissertation. Luckily, we both have found something we want to write about and hopefully we will get our data collected over the summer so that the next year might be a bit easier. 

Thank you for reading and I hope you liked what we had to say!

Bye for now, from Anne-Marthe & Serine

More information on our BSc (Hons) Animal Science and Animal Management courses

 

The world of animal science – an alligator dissection

Writtle College Animal Science lecturer, Nieky van Veggel, was part of the dissection team during last week’s student seminar. Here he discusses the experience and the benefits to our students.

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“Last week has been a week of weird and wonderful at Writtle College. We organised our annual Inspiration and Activity Week for our higher education students. This is a week where there are no formal lectures scheduled, but instead students have the opportunity to attend a range of different activities, including demonstrations, workshops, industry visits and guest lectures.

This year we had a truly unique experience on the timetable: Writtle College lecturers Jarmila Bone and Nieky van Veggel and third year BSc (Hons) Animal Science student Ed Church organised a live demonstration dissection of an American Alligator. To top it all off this dissection was performed in the Northumberland Lecture Theatre, giving 170 curious students and staff an opportunity to experience this fascinating dissection up close. Attendance was overwhelming, with interest shown by Higher Education (HE) and Further Education (FE) students across disciplines, ranging from horticulture and conservation to equine and animal science. In addition, we were fortunate to have alumni and staff in attendance, as well as students from other HE and FE institutions.

The dissection itself was a very interesting experience. The alligator in question used to belong to a private collection and had died unexpectedly. Although her death was unfortunate, it did enable us to provide the audience with a great and unique learning experience. It really was a fascinating opportunity for students to witness an exotic dissection such as this first hand.

I think it is safe to say it was a positive experience for all involved, including staff and students. Offering students with experiences like this, both as audience members or in this case for Ed as an actual demonstrator to a general public, make Writtle College a unique learning environment.

Finally, I think events like this demonstrate the wide variety of activities the College, and the School of Sport, Equine and Animal Science, organises. We’re really looking forward to running similar events like this in the future, so watch this space!”

Postgraduate Animal Science courses at Writtle College

Writtle College Animal Science and Management degrees

Inside Nature’s Giants – Writtle College Edition

The American Alligator

Writtle College veterinarian Jarmila Bone, animal scientist Nieky van Veggel and third year animal science student Ed Church join forces in a bid to get under the skin of the alligator.

The team will uncover the alligator’s incredible jaw muscles and dental features. But while alligators’ spiked teeth are excellent for gripping prey as they plunge into a death roll, they are useless for chewing. So how do these animals manage to digest large chunks of raw meat and bone? During the dissection, the team will reveal the digestive system and inspect the stomach contents for clues.

Furthermore, they will reveal the bizarre plumbing between the heart and the stomach that might provide the key to this puzzle.

Writtle College students and staff are invited to join the dissection team in the Northumberland Lecture Theatre on a journey through the unique anatomy of the alligator in Inspiration & Activity week on Thursday 21 November 2013 from 14:00 – 16:00. Contact nieky.vanveggel@writtle.ac.uk

Image source: Wikipedia

Postgraduate Animal Science courses at Writtle College

Writtle College Animal Science and Management degrees