STSM Scotland (August 2019)
STSM Scotland’s Rural College, Inverness, Scotland (August 2019)
On the 5th of August, I started my second Short-term scientific mission (STSM) in Inverness, Scotland. Once again, I was a guest of the Epidemiological Research Unit of the Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC). I was assisted in my endeavour by prof. dr. George J. Gunn and the other members of the SRUC team.
My task for this STSM had been to formulate a set of instructions which other members will use to describe the cattle rearing situation and control programmes for non-regulated cattle diseases in their countries. I have used the mentioned instructions to write a narrative description for Slovenia and the United Kingdom. In addition, I have also gathered the information that will be used to make a list of relevant stakeholders for control programmes in Europe. I continued my work from the previous STSM and helped to formulate Deliverable 1.1. of the working group 1 (WG1), which is published on the SOUND control website and describes the control of some diseases in member states. On the 5th of September, I presented my work at the WG1 meeting in Inverness to the other WG1 members, where I received some good feedback on how to improve the instructions.
In my eyes, the STSM was a success as I have achieved all my goals and I hope the work done will contribute to the overall success of this COST action.
At this point, I would like to thank the leaders of SOUND control for giving me the opportunity to go on a second STSM. I would also like to thank the staff at SRUC who helped me with my work and made my one month stay in Scotland go by in a blink of an eye.
Jaka Jakob Hodnik
University of Ljubljana, Veterinary Faculty, Ljubljana, Slovenia