Penn Vet announces new entrepreneurship program

Dr. Andrew Hoffman, Gilbert S. Kahn Dean of Veterinary Medicine at Penn, will serve as the program's academic director. Photo courtesy of Penn Vet.

The veterinary profession's influence on public health is becoming more evident by the day. Veterinarians can offer insight and ideas that address complex societal issues ranging from public health to environmental sustainability to human and animal well-being.

That's why the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine has added the Leading Veterinary Entrepreneurs to its continuing education platform.

The intensive executive program, which is intended for veterinarians, scientists, technologists, academic leaders and innovators, will cover entrepreneurship fundamentals, global challenges for veterinarians, the landscape of health care, identifying and developing opportunities, utilizing resources and fostering partnerships, social entrepreneurship, sociopolitics, and leadership. It will take place over the course of four days, from June 3-6, 2019. 

“This program is designed to prepare individuals to take on an entrepreneurial mindset that may be outside their areas of education and experience,” Andrew Hoffman, DVM, DVSc, Gilbert S. Kahn Dean of Veterinary Medicine at Penn Vet and the program's academic director, says. “It will introduce the foundational skills needed to develop a new product, service or venture with growth potential, or even to identify opportunities within an existing organization.”

Veterinarians are at a unique vantage point to conceptualize solutions that can enhance the quality of animal and human lives, from appliances that improve pet mobility to devices that monitor our food supply to new medical treatments to treat disease, Dr. Hoffman says.  

“It is our role as educators to make sure our students and alumni are well equipped to identify market opportunities that could lead to entrepreneurial careers that parallel, or go beyond, the practice of medicine,” he says. “Here at Penn Vet, we are innovating new career pathways that blend the curricula and credentials of veterinary medicine with human healthcare and social services.”