[Industry First] VCA Japan Animal Hospital Group Establishes Social Collaboration Course "Veterinary Medicine Future Vision and Next-Generation Education Development" at the University of Tokyo

VCA Japan LLC (Headquarters: 7F, Shinagawa Season Terrace, 1-2-70 Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Jiro Shimada; hereinafter "VCA Japan"), which operates one of Japan's largest animal hospital groups, established an industry-first* social collaboration course titled "Veterinary Medicine Future Vision and Next-Generation Education Development" at the Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the University of Tokyo (hereinafter "the University of Tokyo"), effective April 1, 2026. *According to VCA Japan's own research, April 2026.

■ Purpose of Establishing the Social Collaboration Course
To foster leaders and educators who transcend the boundaries of specialized fields and lead the next generation.

This course aims to cultivate leaders who will drive the future of veterinary medicine and veterinary care in Japan, as well as educators who will nurture the next generation. Researchers participating in this course will be selected from veterinarians belonging to VCA Japan. They will be trained as human resources responsible for next-generation veterinary care, combining their clinical experience with the academic knowledge of the University of Tokyo.

In the increasingly sophisticated and diverse field of companion animal medicine, there is a growing demand not only for knowledge and skills in specific specialized areas but also for the ability to grasp issues and derive solutions by crossing multiple disciplines. Traditional veterinary education and clinical training have developed primarily around the acquisition of advanced knowledge and skills in specialized fields such as surgery, internal medicine, clinical pathology, and diagnostic imaging. While enhancing specialization is essential for improving the quality of veterinary care, the challenges faced in actual clinical settings are rarely confined to a single specialty.

The ability to integrate various perspectives—diagnosis, treatment, research, education, team medicine, and hospital management—and make practical on-site judgments will become increasingly important. This course aims to break down these traditional specialty silos, focusing on education and research that emphasizes "why we think that way," "how to verify it," and "how to return it to clinical practice" for cases and research topics.

The goal is not merely to learn knowledge but to acquire a complete thought process: discovering problems, formulating hypotheses, verifying them, and implementing the findings in society. By connecting VCA Japan's nationwide clinical network with the academic knowledge accumulated by the University of Tokyo, the aim is for researchers to demonstrate leadership in clinical settings, bridge research and clinical practice, and eventually become educators capable of training the next generation of veterinary professionals.

■ Three Main Activities of This Course

Fostering Next-Generation Leaders and Educators by Global Standards

Under the guidance of Dr. Kei Hayashi, Professor Emeritus at Cornell University and visiting professor for this course, world-class educational methods will be introduced.

This course aims to develop next-generation leaders and educators who can connect the fields of clinical practice, research, and education and guide those around them, rather than simply possessing advanced specialized knowledge. Particular emphasis will be placed on logical thinking, problem-solving skills, educational ability, and communication skills, fostering the capacity for VCA Japan researchers to think independently, practice, and nurture future generations.

Professor Hayashi will be responsible for the leadership development of VCA Japan researchers and will also play a role in fostering next-generation faculty and instructors with global perspectives and logical thinking at the University of Tokyo. This will promote the development of human resources who possess both practical skills rooted in clinical settings and thinking abilities based on world-class education and research.

Promotion of Translational Research and Implementation of "Standardization"

Traditional veterinary education has centered on learning within specialized fields such as surgery, internal medicine, clinical pathology, and diagnostic imaging. This course will transcend these boundaries, providing cross-disciplinary education that examines cases and issues from multiple angles.

What is required in clinical settings is not just the ability to use individual pieces of knowledge in isolation, but the ability to combine them to make optimal decisions. This course emphasizes the thinking framework common to researchers and clinicians—"problem setting," "hypothesis construction," "verification," and "presentation"—and cultivates integrated clinical thinking applicable in practice.

Furthermore, by connecting the research results and academic knowledge of the University of Tokyo with VCA Japan's extensive clinical network, translational research will be promoted. A bidirectional cycle will be established where the university's "research seeds" are tested and applied in VCA Japan's "clinical fields," and the resulting insights are fed back into education and research.

Formulation of a Veterinary Medicine Future Vision and International Collaboration

This course aims to realize veterinary care with higher reproducibility, less dependent on the experience of specific facilities or individuals, through multi-center clinical trials and transparent case records. VCA Japan researchers will embody the "standardization of Japanese veterinary medicine" through their clinical practice and grow as its standard-bearers.

Furthermore, the course will work on analyzing the ideal state of veterinary medicine 10 to 20 years from now from multiple perspectives and presenting a grand design for the entire industry. It will examine what kind of human resources, education, research, and clinical systems will be needed in the future for the increasingly advanced and diverse field of companion animal medicine, indicating the future direction of veterinary care.

Leveraging the international networks of Cornell University and Mars Veterinary Health, the course will redefine the value of Japanese veterinary medicine in a global context. This will contribute to improving the quality and standardization of Japanese veterinary care while fostering human resources capable of performing at an international level.

■ Course Overview

Item: Details
Course Name: Veterinary Medicine Future Vision and Next-Generation Education Development (Social Collaboration Course)
Location: Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the University of Tokyo
Duration: April 1, 2026 – March 31, 2029
Faculty: Yukari Takeuchi (Professor/Vice Dean/Responsible Faculty for Social Collaboration Course, University of Tokyo), Kei Hayashi (Visiting Professor, University of Tokyo / Professor Emeritus, Cornell University), Masaru Okuda (Professor, Veterinary Internal Medicine, University of Tokyo), Daiki Sakuma (Project Assistant Professor, University of Tokyo)
Partner Organization: VCA Japan LLC

■ Messages from the Partner Organization Representative and Faculty

Jiro Shimada, President, VCA Japan LLC: "We believe that implementing translational research to deliver the fruits of academic research to the examination room as quickly as possible is an important social mission for VCA Japan's clinical network. To further develop Japanese veterinary medicine, we will work to foster leaders and educators who will drive the next generation of veterinary care by connecting the academic knowledge of the University of Tokyo with the clinical network of VCA Japan. We will contribute to the future of Japanese veterinary medicine."

Kei Hayashi, Visiting Professor, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the University of Tokyo / Professor Emeritus, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University: "My mission is to establish world-class veterinary medical education that adheres to fundamental principles in Japan's clinical settings. In this social collaboration course, I will support VCA Japan researchers in their growth as leaders in the 'society' of companion animal medicine, and through education at the University of Tokyo, I will foster next-generation educators with interdisciplinary and comprehensive perspectives. Under the clear goal of 'helping suffering companion animals,' we will ask 'why we do it' and"