INFRAFRONTIER at the Open Day of the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna

Almost 5000 visitors from Vienna and the surrounding area took the opportunity to take a look behind the doors of Vetmeduni Vienna on 27 October. In addition to learning about the work of a university veterinary clinic, many visitors also stopped by the INFRAFRONTIER stand, which was run by colleagues from the Austrian INFRAFRONTIER node. There they learnt about the necessity and successes of using animals in biomedical research at the booth and in two presentations given by the archive manager Auke Boersma.

Visitors could see modern mouse cages with enrichment, which offer the mice many opportunities for activity. A microscope and a computer-assisted sperm analyser provided insights into the working methods of a reproductive biology lab for laboratory mice. Dry shipping containers showed how mouse sperm is sent to other laboratories around the world.

“We had numerous conversations with future veterinary students, to whom we were able to show that biomedical research also needs well-trained and highly motivated veterinarians. For me, it was a good but also rare opportunity to engage with society. Most visitors had never heard of service platforms such as INFRAFRONTIER. In this respect, it was an important contribution by Vetmeduni to the “Third Mission”, i.e., the responsibility of universities to bring knowledge to the wider society,” said INFRAFRONTIER archive manager Auke Boersma.

Vetmeduni’s outreach efforts were outstanding, and we sincerely thank them for their wonderful role as INFRAFRONTIER ambassadors on such a special day.