QUB hosts European conference

A local organising committee from Queen’s University Belfast (QUB), with support from Visit Belfast, were successful in their bid to host the European Society for Veterinary Clinical Nutrition (ESVCN) Congress 2024, held recently at Riddel Hall, Stranmillis.

The Congress was attended by almost 350 delegates from all over the globe, including 30 delegates from Brazil and 20 from North America.

The Congress theme was ‘Sustainable diets across the food chain’ and was addressed by five illustrious keynote speakers who tackled it from the perspective of human, livestock and pet diets, challenging our thinking on the future of food systems. The Congress theme was inspired by the research activities of the Institute for Global Food Security, and we were delighted to see more than 110 papers and 70 posters addressing the topic and resulting in very active discussions!

This was the first time the Congress was held on the island of Ireland and its organisation was a collaboration between QUB, University College Dublin (UCD) and Teagasc. UCD and Teagasc hosted a European College of Veterinary Clinical Nutrition (ECVCN) training workshop for diplomates at UCD’s Lyons Farm in Co Kildare, for 2 days preceding the main 3-day conference in Belfast.

Professor Ilias Kyriazakis, himself an ECVCN Specialist, led the Local Organising Committee, whose efforts resulted in such a spectacular event. The Congress culminated in a very entertaining celebration of Irish dancing and music that continued late into the night!

Veterinarian and Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research & Enterprise at QUB, Professor Archie Clements, welcomed delegates at the Congress icebreaker held in the Great Hall and commented that “this was an excellent opportunity to profile Queen’s work in an area that is central to our national reputation”.