A group of 24 people from Veterinary Bureau of MOA, Xinjiang, Shaanxi, Gansu, Jilin, Sichuan, Chongqing, Inner Mongolia organized by Sino-Canada Livestock Health Extention Service Project, attended a 30-day training course on Continuing Education Methods and Management from Oct. 7 to Nov. 6, 2007 in Alberta, Canada. The participants studied not only Knowledge, skill, but also right concept and attitude on training, paticularly during the concentrated study period, which was very effective and impressive.

The careful and thoughtful arrangement made by Agriteam Canada passed though 3 phases: the first one was the 2 week training at Olds College for continuing Education, during which, some experts, like Dr. Don Miligan, who coordinated all the programs of the visit and accompanied with the delegation members for most of visit, introduced animal husbandry in Alberta; the 2nd phase was visiting Alberta Agricultural, Alberta Veterinary Medical Association and divided into 4 groups to visit cattle feedlots, dairy farms, swine farm and private veterinary, while communicated with vets, farmers at Camrose, Airdrie and Lethbridge. The 3rd phase was wrap-up presentation, exchanging point of view on disease eradication plan prepared by each group, Mr. Don Milligan made comments on them with his relevant detailed suggestion.

The Main Content of the Training:
A. Continuing Education
1. Needs Assessment process
2. Training of Trainers
3. How to promote a course and design and develop Learnware
4. Developing on-line training and Power point
5. Watched the procedure of slaughter of pigs, beef cattle, deer at Slaughter House and Meat Inspection.

Besides, we visited the college farm, including Composting Research Center and Bio-diesel oil Research Lab, Cattle Breeding Center and Vet. Lab of Animal Science of the college.

B. Study Tour on Animal Production and Management
1. Introduction of Canadian animal husbandry. Including beef cattle breeding, pork production, dairy and poultry quota management and the poultry associaltion at Alberta.

2. Animal disease provention. Including the animal disease management and report system at varies levels; the relationship among private veterinary, official veterinary and farmers in disease prevention and control, as well as their respective responsibility on report, slaughter procedure, in case a disease break out; situation of poultry disease and prevention at Alberta, and swine disease and prevention in west Canada.

3. Canadian veterinary and drugs management, the organization structure and role of AVMA and the procedure rule and organization for vets qualification attestation. Duty and responsibility of private vet, official vet and commercial vet, and the management for prescription drug and non-prescription drug.

4. Introduced by Expert from Alberta Agriculture of the management on disease declaration and zoonosis prevention and control.

5. Visited the production and disease treatment by 4 groups according to swine, dairy, beef cattle and poultry industry.

C. Report and Presentation, theory study integrated with practical activities
Various interactive methods were adopted during the participatory training: homework, questions and answers, group study and communication with facilitators and among participants. Combined with the knowledge and skills had just leart and the experience of each participant, all the groups fully prepared and gave the presentation by power point on “ How to do training needs assessment” and “ How to make up the plan for disease eradication”, at the last phase, gave a wrap-up report about on the spot visit, and disease eradication plan for pork blue ear, Dairy FMD, Beef cattle BSE, and avian influenza respectively.

The Highlights of the Study Tour
A、Focusing on Learng
Distinct from the previouse delegations sent to Canada by LHESP, which were senior and mainly for policy and system study, this was the first large group, sitting at classroom at Olds college in Canada for two weeks long to study CE, that was really a precious opportunity for most of the members in the career.

After the concentrated training, participants felt that the CE course was designed very well and useful, particularly the needs assessment analyse, competency profile, using practicable, material, and measurable words to describe learning objectives etc. were very fresh and impressive. The trainee also learnt from the facilitators’ careful, prudential, professional attitude, putting aside the hat of “ Prfessor”,”Expert”, to find out and understand the real needs of the trainees and to carry on the proper training accordingly. The participated training is very effective and active, which may quide the students to think hard and follow up. Besides, visiting the college’s farm, slaugter house, labs etc. helped us better understanding the Olds Colledge’s concept and objective of training the graduates with the needs of industry and focusing on training practical skills. Ice hockey match arrangement made us feel canadian culture and fervency.

B. High level of participation and interactivity
Most of participants were veterinary with many years experience on animal health extention service. They studied hard, took a lot of notes, asked many good questions, and carefully sumaried what they have just learned in Canda, combined with their own knowledge and experience, prepared and demonstrated outstanding consecutive and precise plan on certain diseases eradication, which were belauded by Canadian experts and other participants.

All the members will take what have just leart from the study tour back home, which was useful, effective, applicable and tansferable, in order to train more people with the right attitude and method, which can be also used to other aspect of our own work.