New £100k Global Veterinary Challenge Award for students

UK veterinary charity Worldwide Veterinary Service (WVS) has launched the Global Veterinary Challenge Award, in partnership with the British Veterinary Association (BVA). The challenge is unique, the opportunity for UK vet students to design a project that champions an international animal welfare issue – and the chance to see it come to life.

Launched today at BVA Live in Birmingham, the award is designed to empower veterinary students in the field of international animal welfare. They will have the ability to develop an innovative, sustainable solution to address a pressing global animal welfare issue which they care about.

The winning project, judged by the Global Veterinary Challenge Panel, will be allocated funding of up to £100,000, and the successful team or individual will work alongside WVS to bring their vision to life.

Applications are now open. To apply, students need to submit a proposal that that will support and champion an animal welfare need internationally, in the most economically effective, scalable, and sustainable way. Proposals can be for any species, in any geographical location, and must include the animal welfare issue they want to address, why it matters, their proposed veterinary intervention, and the steps for implementing their project.

CEO and Founder of Worldwide Veterinary Service, Dr Luke Gamble, tells us:

“The profession is most powerful when we work together as team. Most of us have causes we care about and sometimes it is incredibly hard to find a way to champion them. This challenge solves that. The winning idea will not only have funding but full support to drive forward a project that will make an impactful difference. I couldn’t be more excited to see what comes in – remember, anyone can do easy – applicants need to think bold and big.”

British Veterinary Association President Elizabeth Mullineaux said:

“At the British Veterinary Association, our members care passionately about supporting and enhancing animal welfare and for many, myself included, it’s what propelled us to join this fantastic profession. The WVS Global Challenge Award represents an outstanding opportunity for vet students to dive straight in and deliver real world welfare change for animals across the globe, all before they’ve even graduated. We’re looking forward to seeing the project ideas as they come in and the incredible impact this award will have, for both animals but also the students taking part.”

The applications will be assessed in two stages and the deadline for initial applications is 14th October 2025. The best applications will be selected to go through to phase two, which will involve working with a WVS Project Manager to further develop their idea. The winners will be announced at the BVA Awards during BVA Live in June 2026.

Students interested to find out more and apply can visit the WVS website or email [email protected].