Sheikh Technical Veterinary School’s adopts an interactive, student-centred approach to educating veterinary professionals. It endeavours to provide “training that engenders creativity, enterprise, independent thinking and self-confidence” (Kisauzi)
Located in Sheikh in the Sahil highlands of Somaliland, STVS is a regional institution aiming to provide better veterinary services to the people of the Horn Of Africa. These services will protect public health, sustain livestock export, improve livestock production and products and promote animal welfare. The school operates under the auspices of African Union/ Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources, with academic links to international veterinary training institutions. STVS’ main characteristics are:

• Student-centred learning methodology,
• Specialization on arid and semi arid land where the predominant animal production system is pastoral
• Strong emphasis on economics and international trade rules and regulations.

It offers a 3-year residential course awarding diplomas in Livestock Product Development and Entrepreneurship, dealing with chilled carcasses; and in Livestock Health Sciences, dealing with live animals. The school also offers a foundation course in English, mathematics, science, study skills and basic computer literacy. Currently STVS is home to around 110 students across its three academic years. To attain STVS’ needs-based focus, both conventional curricula and teaching methods were re-designed. The school’s approach to study and research encourages learning-by-doing, made possible by its infrastructure, close relationship with the community, small class size and student-friendly campus and environment.

STVS offers quality teaching provided by its highly qualified academicians. Experts in different veterinary fields regularly visit the school for talks and presentations. Students and instructors alike can discuss and exchange views in and out of the classroom. Students are exposed early on to the real professional environment through regular field trips and attachments. STVS provides its teaching staff with ideal conditions to achieve optimum results in research and teaching. Foreign instructors constantly add flows of knowledge, offering terms of comparison, opportunities for discussion and new intellectual stimuli.

At present a computer room equipped with 25 personal computers connected to the internet network is at the students´ disposal. The school features 4 classrooms equipped with video projectors reproducing on a large screen what is displayed on the tutors’ PC monitor. They have overhead projectors for additional display when necessary.

Over the past year, the project has expanded STVS’ premises. New buildings at the spacious school campus have been in use since September 2007, providing STVS freshmen with new 40-seat classrooms, high standard laboratories, a web-connected library and conference centre, a demonstration farm and a hostel for 110 students.