For those who’ve not attended in the past, SPVS is a not-for-profit organisation for everyone within the veterinary industry, providing a wide range of advice, guidance and support for its members. Their 2025 Congress is taking place at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole from 30 January to 1 February 2025 and has been developed for all members of the practice team to help ensure practices are happy, sustainable, profitable and productive places to work.
SPVS Congress theme for 2025 is ‘connect, collaborate, progress’ – building quality networks and embracing collaboration enables you to make positive changes in your professional and personal lives.
Your ticket
The full event ticket price includes a 2-course hot buffet lunch and refreshments throughout the day on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday of the event, with pricing working out from under £135 per day. Bring the whole team and get an automatic 15% group discount on top. BVRA members can also get an extra 10% discount, simply by adding BVRA10-cong25 at checkout.
Location
SPVS Congress 2025 will be held at the centrally located Hilton Birmingham Metropole, just minutes from Birmingham Airport. The event will take place all under the one roof of the hotel, including all lectures, the exhibition hall, the social events, and enough bedrooms for all attendees to stay on site.
What to expect
The programme offers concurrent streams of non-clinical lectures, panel sessions and workshops enabling you to progress as a veterinary leader. Sessions will provide you with a mixture of in-practice case studies and practical steps you can start to implement as soon as you get home. The ‘mix and match’ programme will include the following highlights, and includes fantastic speakers from within the veterinary profession and beyond:
- Client Education – Panel Session
- Sustainability: Transforming good intentions into action – Panel Session
- Practical Menopause Support for Veterinary Teams – Liz Barton, WellVet
- The Power of Connection: Feeling safe to speak up – Helen Silver-MacMahon RVN, Being Human Consulting
- Managing Difficult Conversations with Clients – Sara Jackson, VetLed
- Overcoming Personal Barriers in the Workplace – Panel Session
Other highlights in the programme include:
- Lectures and panel sessions focussing on business and practice management, team dynamics, leadership skills and self-development
- Friday morning collaborative “Business Club Live” speed-networking session – an opportunity to discuss a variety of defined issues on hosted tables
- A large animal and equine stream focusing on the unique challenges faced by veterinary professionals in this “field”!
- Interactive workshops will cover a range of diverse topics such as enabling your entrepreneurial skills, managing emergencies andcoaching.
- Grow your Business – a dedicated day on Saturday for those considering starting up or expanding their business, including advice on funding, marketing, legalities and business planning
- A raft of speakers new to SPVS Congress excited to share the knowledge and experience with interested fellow professionals
Click here for full the full programme.
Exhibition
Joining the event in the exhibition hall will be a wide variety of suppliers offering invaluable advice and support including:
- H&S and employment law advice
- Marketing and client communications
- PMS providers
- Financial services and insurance providers
- IT services
- Recruitment services
- Training
- Pharmaceutical products
Social programme, team bonding and networking
It’s not just lectures that SPVS Congress offers, their fun packed social programme includes a Thursday afternoon Happy Hour with a free drinks token, Thursday evening race night and buffet night, and Friday night President’s Party including a sparkling reception, 3-course meal and one of the UK’s best party bands. Catch up with old friends, make new and put the world to rights – attendees will include veterinary professionals from a wide range of practice types and roles.
In addition to these events, simply taking time out of practice to relax and communicate as a team can be priceless. Spending quality time with colleagues in a relaxed environment – time you may never seem to have when in practice – allows you to return to practice reinvigorated and ready to thrive.