About UniVets Global
UniVets Global appeared in the late months of 2021, but existed much before that. Here's who we are, what we do and how we bring change to the veterinary profession.
Hi there, colleague!
If you're here, it's most likely because you are intrigued as to what the story is behind UniVets Global and who are the faces making things happen. Well, sit tight and enjoy a little journey back in time to learn more about UniVets Global and our team.
My name is Andreia Dias
I'm a vet and founder of UniVets Global.
But if you want to take a trip down memory lane and the soul behind the project, sit tight!
I was born in Portugal and lived most of my life there. I had what many would call a "normal" life and childhood. No big events, no traumas. Play like a child, do what your parents say, study. I would pretend I was working in a nursery, that I had a little grocery shop, that I was a doctor, that I was a teacher. I would sometimes go to great extents with these. I created activity books and crosswords and then I would force my younger sister do them and grade them... I painted my bedroom wall with white crayons as if it was a school blackboard. I wrote stories and did the drawings and painted them (some masterpieces there, true copies of Sailormoon!). Later in life I taught myself to paint on Photoshop and how to code HTML and CSS. I created a website with HTML and CSS on Wordpad. I started to enter writing competitions. I started to play in online communities and until I was 18 years-old, this was my life. It was amazing!
But my 17s and 18s were the best and the worst years of my life!
During my final high school year, life was amazing! I always finished at 1pm, so I could spend most of my days doing things I thoroughly enjoyed: drawing, painting, roleplaying, coding. I would enter art competitions, create custom pictures for other players in the community, manage the forums on the horse game I played, write and paint tutorials on how to paint a horse mane with Photoshop.
But it was also the darkest time! The one that comes up to my mind when I am asked "what was the event in your life that impacted you the most?".
At that time, I was having some "failures" in my grades, and the hard thing for me was that I didn't know why. Maths was not my friend! I was also trying to decide what to do with my life. I wanted to have a career doing something I enjoyed, but I didn't know what to choose. At the time, I only knew I liked writing, art and horses. I found a degree on horse equitation and I thought I had had "eureka" moment. Shattered. My mom told me I was too smart to do it, and how could I do it, I had never even been around horses, what was I thinking??? That was hard to hear (but she was right, by the way).
However, it then led me into some of the best things that happened in my life:
I decided I would become a vet so that I could work with horses.
I decided I would finally learn how to horse ride.
I found strength, boundaries and purpose. And, for the first time, I sacrificed something I wanted for my family's sake.
My veterinary career
How it all started
So, as you see, there are a bunch of strange reasons why I ended up training to become a vet:
I was strongly discouraged from becoming a horse riding instructor (seeing I didn't really know how to horseride)
I loved horses (and other animals too, but mostly horses)
I loved science
I didn't like blood and there was no way I would become a human doctor (what every Portuguese parent wants their kids to be)
I was told that being a teacher was a bad idea (big crisis in the profession in Portugal)
I didn't know what else to do!
So you see, all valid reasons and quite far from the "I always wanted to be a vet". I consider myself a veterinary professional by competence, not by vocation. I don't think that makes me a bad vet. Actually, I think that helped me put some healthy barriers in my profession and career.
I did enjoy vet school, a lot actually. I had enough time to study and some time to keep up with my hobbies (as you've noticed, a lot of online gaming, art and moderating online communities). Meanwhile, I focused my veterinary studies on horses, hoping to become an equine vet.
The Move
Hello, Scotland!
Straight after university, I moved to Scotland at the end of 2014. That is when my professional career started. I was very very lucky!
I got a mixed job in a small town practice where I learned how to be a vet. I was working mostly with small animals, some farm animals and a handful (literally) of horses. I was in a young team, a supportive team. Honestly, if I were to go back to the UK to live permanently, I would really consider going back there.
However, my professional experiences taught me a lot. I mean, a lot. About me, about what I enjoyed, about what I didn't enjoy, about what I wanted, about what I didn't want. Here's a list of a few things I discovered in my path...
I like being a vet, but not all the time
I like horses, but I don't like being a horse vet
PTSD from the on-call phone ringtone
My life vision does not involve me working on a shift for 24 hours or more
There's a lot of "vet work" that I don't enjoy doing
There's a lot of things I don't enjoy doing because I don't feel like I can do it
I think we can stop here now... And get to the part where I started to diverge from the traditional veterinary career.
The Move
Hello, Scotland!
I did move to Scotland at the end of 2014, after spending some time there in 2013. That is when my professional career started. I was very very lucky!
I got a mixed job in a small town practice where I learned how to be a vet. I was working mostly with small animals, some farm animals and a handful (literally) of horses. I was in a young team, a supportive team. Honestly, if I were to go back to the UK to live permanently, I would really consider going back there.
However, my professional experiences taught me a lot. I mean, a lot. About me, about what I enjoyed, about what I didn't enjoy, about what I wanted, about what I didn't want. Here's a list of a few things I discovered in my path...
I was strongly discouraged from becoming a horse riding instructor (seeing I didn't really know how to horseride)
I loved horses (and other animals too, but mostly horses)
I loved science
I didn't like blood and there was no way I would become a human doctor (what every Portuguese parent wants their kids to be)
I was told that being a teacher was a bad idea (big crisis in the profession in Portugal)
I didn't know what else to do!
I think we can stop here now... And get to the part where I started to diverge from the traditional veterinary career.
My non-traditional vet career
Fast-forward...
I normally joke around saying I had my midlife crisis when I was 25. At that point I was getting quite burned out. I was working more hours than I wanted and I was becoming more and more aware of how many things I was doing that I didn't actually enjoy. I was doing emergencies and weekends. When I was on call, I would often sleep with my scrubs on, especially if I had patients at the clinic that I knew I was going to visit. I was starting to feel like my life was get up - get ready - go to work - make dinner - mindlessly do something for 1 or 2h - go to bed - rinse and repeat. I knew I didn't want that. So I started to think about what I wanted. I also started to think that, regardless, I needed to make money... So I started to think about developing my own business.
This didn't result in an amazing epiphany, motivation and drive. There was some drive there, but mostly it just resulted in more work... I didn't know what I wanted to do so I started to spend a lot of time reading, watching videos and so on about coaching, affiliate marketing, starting your own YouTube channel, creating a podcast, create an online store, make courses,... I was hoping to find "the thing". Well, turns out to find "the thing", you need to find "your thing". That involves a lot of personal development!
My (ad)ventures included an online store that sold equestrian clothes and apparel, cat blogs, vet blogs, vet coaching, and my first real venture, UK VetMove. This may be the one that you've encountered me on, because it's the one that stood the longest. With UK VetMove, I was sharing my knowledge and expertise to colleagues that needed it to succeed. It was not a very viable business model, but it included me doing things that I loved ("teaching") and leading to someone else's success. Anything I had done with these ingredients had worked for the people who I had helped.
My problem was that I had (have...) too many ideas and too little focus. In 2019, I had an opportunity to take over the business of a colleague who was doing something similar to me. This is how I ended up working with Spay Academy Spain, VetAbroad and PracticeAid. I now had a surgical attendance course to run in Spain and two more services. Mind you, I took over it in 2020.
2020.
The year that didn't exist, but changed our lives.
The year of the C virus.
The year where running attendance courses was not a good idea.
I put a pin on it and let it slowly simmer, carrying on with UK VetMove. However, I kept getting requests, people wanting to know when the next course was going to be. In 2021 we had a break and managed to get the students from 2020 in the courses. I brought a friend to one.
It was amazing.
Not the course itself, but the vets. The experience they had gone through. That is when I found "my thing".
My thing...
"Zhu Li, do the thing!"
My thing is a "thing" that works for everything and everyone.
Me. I get to do something I love.
The vets. They truly learn something for their lives and, more importantly, they gain confidence, and, dare I say, hope.
The tutors. They too have the opportunity of doing something they love applying their knowledge and being paid for it.
The animals. We are actually directly contributing to the welfare of the animals we work with and enabling the vets to do the same for hundreds more.
This is how UniVets Global appeared.
My thing...
"Zhu Li, do the thing!" (a little shoutout to the other Avatar and Korra lovers out there)
My thing is a "thing" that works for everything and everyone.
Me. I get to do something I love.
The vets. They truly learn something for their lives and, more importantly, they gain self-love.
The tutors. They too have the opportunity of doing something they love applying their knowledge and being paid for it.
The animals. We are actually directly contributing to the welfare of the animals we work with and enabling the vets to do the same for hundreds more.
This is how UniVets Global appeared.
HELLO!
And UniVets Global was born!
There are many silly reasons behind "UniVets" and the "Uni" part.
I love unicorns. The most stupid reason. The most honest reason.
We are all UNIque
We do better UNIted than tearing each other apart
This venture is a UNIversity of life for veterinary professionals
Really. Unicorns. The original logo had a unicorn. Our secret mascot is a unicorn nicknamed Korns
This is UniVets
UniVets is Global. UniVets is our attempt at learning and growing to save one more animal life.
It's about believing in becoming better, not the best. It's about understanding that we are already giving our best, all the time, every time. That includes you. That includes the people around you.
UniVets is growing and contributing as a vet for other vets and for the animals.
ABOUT
UniVets Global
Loving who we are, how we are.
Our Name
Identity
UniVets Global is a training company for the veterinary profession that follows the motto "learning by doing".
Our Work
Mission
We specialise in hands-on skills and promote remarkable hands-on practical courses and training for veterinary professionals.
Our Impact
Vision
We work so that vets can smile and realise that they can save one more life than they did the day before.
Our Heart
Values
We believe in justice, honesty, impartiality and kindness.
Everyone has their own story
Be kind. Everyone has their demons and epic inner battles.
You cannot change others
Change what you can control, influence what you can't.
There are no silly questions
It takes courage to ask questions and wisdom to answer them.
We're all doing our best
We are all living beings making the best of our time on Earth.
Our Work
What we do and how we impact the veterinary profession, one vet at a time.
Academies
Our signature in-person hands-on practical courses in Portugal, Spain and Romania, created for veterinarians to develop their confidence, competence and skills with technical procedures.
Webinars
The UniVets Webinar Club and the Ohana Animal Charity partnership are free-to-attend monthly events that we promote to bring high quality education to vets all over the world.
RCVS Exam Preparation
We provide resources and training specifically for vets who are preparing for the RCVS Statutory Examination in order to work as clinicians in the UK.
Contact Us
Office HQ
Technology House,
9 Newton Place
Glasgow
G3 7PR
Scotland
All Rights Reserved.