Matt Matiasovic

DVM, PGCert, MSc, Dipl. ECVS, MRCVS

Orthopaedic surgeon, Manchester Veterinary Specialists, UK

Matt qualified as a vet in 2011 and has since worked in general practice as well as referral centres in Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. He completed his surgical training (ECVS residency) at the University of Bristol in 2019 and became board-certified by the ECVS in 2020. He is passionate about orthopaedic surgery, clinical research and high-quality education. He has experience with teaching vets in the UK and Europe since 2016. He works as an orthopaedic consultant at Manchester Veterinary Specialists in the UK. His clinical interests are elective joint surgery and arthroscopy. He is also a member of an ECVS Examination subcommittee.

Karol Bayer

DVM, Dipl. ECVS, FTA Kleintierchirurgie

Senior surgeon, Tierklinik Ludwigsburg, Germany

Karol graduated as a vet in 2012 in Kosice (Slovakia) with clinical rotations in Vienna (Austria) and has since worked in several referral centres in Germany and Austria. He completed his surgical training (ECVS residency) at the Free University of Berlin and became a Diplomate of the ECVS in 2020. Since then, he works as a Senior Veterinary Surgeon at Tierklinik Ludwigsburg in Germany. He is passionate about the newest standards in the field of orthopedic surgery, joint resurfacing and arthroscopy. He has wide-ranging practical teaching experience and is an active consultant for Arthrex ® .

Pavel Slunský

DVM, Dipl. ECVS, MSc (SA), FTA Kleintierchirurgie, FTA Kleintiere

Senior surgeon, Small Animal Specialists Augsburg, Germany

Pavel graduated at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Brno (Czech Republic) in 2011. He completed a surgical residency at the Free University in Berlin (Germany) and became a Diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Surgeon (Dipl. ECVS) in 2019. Simultaneously he gained also further titles as a national specialist in Small Animal Surgery (FTA für Chirurgie) and Small Animal Medicine (FTA für Kleintiere) in Germany. Since 2019 Pavel works as a senior surgeon, residency supervisor and small animal medicine program coordinator at AniCura Small Animal Specialists in Augsburg (Germany). He is passionate about teaching and serves as an adjunct lecturer of small animal surgery at VetUni in Brno. Pavel´s main clinical and research interests include traumatology and advanced soft tissue surgery.

Mathias Brunnberg

DVM, Dipl. ECVS, MSc (SA), FTA Kleintierchirurgie

Senior surgeon, Tierarztpraxis Dr. Sörensen GmbH

Mathias graduated in 2005 at the Free University Berlin, Germany. After he completed several rotating internships he completed his surgical training (ECVS residency) at the Small Animal Clinic of the Free University Berlin. He became a board-certified Diplomate ECVS in 2015 and in the same year he successfully finished his Master of Science (Small Animal). During his time at the Small Animal Clinic in Berlin he was responsible for the surgical education for junior surgeons, students and supervised standard ECVS residency programs. After 10 years of surgical experience in a university setting he moved on to a private clinic in Berlin where he works as a senior surgeon. Mathias is dedicated to high quality postgraduate education and organizes several national and international surgical courses, webinars and presentations.

Jakub Kaczmarek

DVM, Dipl. ECVS

Orthopaedic surgeon, VETACARE Erfstadt, Germany

Jakub qualified in 2013 in Wroclaw, Poland and shortly after that moved to Germany where he started his surgical internship. Afterwards he moved to Zurich (Switzerland) and later on to Gießen (Germany) for further externships in order to continue to study orthopedics and sports medicine. Shortly after he started his ECVS Residency in a referral clinic in Augsburg (Germany) and became a diplomate of the ECVS in 2021. Jakub is dedicated to teaching and is an active lecturer in Europe and the USA. He works as an orthopedic surgeon at the referral center for orthopedics and sports medicine VETACARE in Erfstadt, Germany.

Marta Kantyka

DVM, Dipl. ECVAA

Senior clinical anaesthetist, VETSUISSE Uni Bern, Switzerland

Marta graduated as a vet in 2011. She then worked as a laboratory and clinical anaesthetist at the University of Vienna until 2013, followed by a small animal anaesthesia internship at the University of Pennsylvania. She completed her anaesthesia residencey at the University of Zurich and currently works as a clinical anaesthetist at the University of Bern, Switzerland.

Daria Starybrat

DVM, DACVECC, MVetMed, MRCVS

Lecturer in emergency and critical care, University of Edinburgh, UK

Daria graduated from Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences in 2011. After working in small animal practices in Poland, Ireland and Wales she completed a rotating internship at a busy private referral practice in Cambridgeshire and a specialty internship at the University of Edinburgh. Daria then completed a residency in Emergency and Critical Care at the Royal Veterinary College and became a Diplomate of the American College of Emergency and Critical Care (DACVECC). Daria is now a Senior Lecturer in Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies in Edinburgh. She is interested in all aspects of emergency medicine and intensive care, although is keen to focus on sepsis and care of patients with severe and life-threatening conditions. Outside of work, Daria enjoys exploring the beauty of Scottish nature and culture.

Julia Tünsmeyer

Dr.med.vet. Dipl. ECVAA

Senior clinical anaesthetist, University of Hannover, Germany

Senior clinician in Anaesthesia, Analgesia and perioperative Intensive Care, Small Animal Clinic -University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Germany

Julia graduated from the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover in 2004, where she also did her postgraduate doctoral studies (Dissertation), a rotating internship and a Residency Training Program of the European College of Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia, becoming board-certified in 2012. From 2015-2017 she worked at the Free University of Berlin as a senior clinician and lecturer in Anaesthesia. She returned to the University of Hannover to continue with her postdoctoral scientific studies in the field of Veterinary Analgesia and to work as a senior clinician in Anaesthesia, Analgesia and Intensive Care. Since then she is also supervising the rotating internship program of the Small Animal Hospital and has been the primary or secondary supervisor of several residents. Julia has a a special interest in the clinical training of students, interns and residents and profound experience in postgraduate education in terms of conducting seminars, webinars and lectures.

Florence Vessieres

DMV, DipECVIM (CA), DACVIM (SAIM), MRCVS

Veterinary Scientific Communication Manager, Royal Canin, UK

Florence graduated from the University of Toulouse in France in 2013. After two internships (France and UK) and a residency in Internal Medicine in the UK, she became an American and European Diplomate in Small Animal Internal Medicine in 2018. Florence works in the pet food industry, using her internal medicine expertise to support the management of conditions where nutrition plays a fundamental role. She is passionate about education, and her clinical interests include gastrointestinal and renal diseases.

Jan Beránek

DVM, CertCAAPR, Dipl. ECVS, MRCVS

Senior surgeon, Kentdale Referrals, UK

Jan graduated from the Veterinary University Brno in 1994. He continued his postgraduate studies at the Small Animal Surgery and Radiology Department at the same university for another three years. Jan joined the team of the first private referral clinic Klinika Jaggy in the Czech Republic and he was working there until 2010. He moved to the United Kingdom in December 2010 and worked at Rutland House Referrals in St Helens till September 2020. He became a diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2018. Jan has been working at Kentdale Referrals (UK) since October 2020. He is an author of two textbooks of orthopaedic radiology and thoracic radiology of small animals. His work has been focused on minimal invasive surgery; his routine caseload involves neurosurgery, orthopaedics and soft tissue surgery.

Jan Janovec

MVDr, Dipl.ECVS, MRCVS, RCVS Recognised Specialist in Small Animal Surgery

Senior Surgeon, Fitzpatrick Referrals, UK

Jan graduated with honours from the University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences in Brno (Czech Republic) in 2008. He underwent his specialist training at Fitzpatrick Referrals and became an ECVS and RCVS specialist in 2018. Since then, he worked as a consultant orthopaedic surgeon and later as head of department at several veterinary specialist hospitals in the UK, before returning to the team of Prof. Fitzpatrick in 2021.

Jan enjoys all aspects of small animal orthopaedics with a special interest in fracture management, joint replacement, and revision surgery. Apart from his clinical work, Jan is involved in clinical research and training of future veterinary specialists. In 2022, Jan was elected as joint educational secretary of the British Veterinary Orthopaedic Association (BVOA).

Viktor Paluš

MVDr., Dipl.ECVN, RCVS Specialist in Veterinary Neurology

Clinical director, Neurology consultant, NeuroVet Trenčín, Slovakia

Viktor graduated from the Veterinary University in Košice in 2005. He completed his neurology specialist training at Dick White Referrals (UK) where he also served as a consultant in Neurology alongside serving as Honorary Assoc. Professor at the University of Nottingham. In 2017 he set up a Neurological referral centre in Trenčín (SK) where he is currently clinical director. He has published widely in the field of small animal neurology and is currently also undergoing a PhD. programme at the University of Veterinary Sciences in Brno (CZ).

In prepraration

Will Robinson

BVetMed MSc BSAVA PGCertSAS Dipl.ECVS MRCVS

Head of Soft Tissue Surgery, Willows Veterinary Referrals, Solihull, UK

Will graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in 2010 and has since worked in multiple small animal hospitals across the UK whilst also completing a rotating internship at Willows in 2012. He completed his surgical training (ECVS residency) and clinical masters degree (MSc) at Bristol Veterinary School in 2019, after which he returned to Willows where he currently heads up the Soft Tissue Surgery department. He became a European Specialist (Diplomate ECVS) in 2020. Will is an extremely knowledgeable clinician with a breadth of surgical experience and we are delighted for him to joint our team of instructors. At work he enjoys thoracic emergency surgery and has been teaching workhops for vets for many years.

Renata Stavinohova

MVDr. Renata Stavinohova PhD, PGCertSAOphthal, DipECVO, MRCVS Senior Ophthalmologist, Lumbry Park Veterinary Specialists, UK

RCVS Recognised Specialist in Veterinary Ophthalmology
EBVS® European Specialist in Veterinary Ophthalmology

Renata Stavinohova graduated from the University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences in Brno, Czech Republic in 2008. After completion of PhD at the same institution, she spent some years gaining surgical and medical experience in the UK before completing a rotating internship and an ophthalmology internship at the Animal Health Trust. In 2017, Renata was awarded a BSAVA Postgraduate Certificate in Small Animal Ophthalmology with distinction. Subsequently, she completed an ECVO-approved residency at Dick White Referrals and became an ECVO Diplomate in 2021. She currently works as an ophthalmologist at Lumbry Park Veterinary Specialists. She is actively involved in the teaching and training of veterinary students, nurses, and vets in their pursuit of improved understanding and postgraduate qualifications in veterinary ophthalmology. She also works as a Vin consultant. Renata enjoys all aspects of ophthalmology, from clinical work to research. She has a particular interest in ophthalmic microsurgery, neuro-ophthalmology, ocular manifestation of systemic disease and inherited eye diseases. Renata is a co-chair of the ECVO Scientific committee, and she has recently become a BVA panellist.

Mark Longley

BVM&S MSc GPCertSAS Dipl.ECVS MRCVS

Senior surgeon, Pride Veterinary Referrals, Derby, UK

Mark graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 2008. He spent five years in general practice before completing an Internship at the University of Glasgow. He then completed a master’s degree investigating specific patella fractures in cats as well as a Surgical Residency at the University of Bristol. He became board certified by the ECVS in 2019. Mark enjoys all aspects of small animal soft tissue and orthopaedic surgery, but particularly enjoys surgical oncology and reconstructive surgery. He has been teaching surgical courses in the UK for many years and we are delighted to have him on our team.

Mentorship

The Practical Skill Centre For Veterinarians

Bratislava, Slovakia

View our courses

Certified Courses by EBVS Diplomates

 

Main Partner:

 

Other Partners:

EBVS Quality Assured

Each course is led by an EBVS Diplomate to assure the highest quality

Develop Your Practical Skills

Our live courses are focused on hands-on practical skills applicable in your own clinical setting

Certification

All courses are peer-reviewed, certified and accredited by leading national and international educational bodies

The Upskill.vet Centre

Visit our educational facility in the historical city centre of Bratislava, Slovakia. Our facility houses a lecture room and wet-lab space with 10 fully equipped workstations, including portable digital X-ray. During our courses we aim to minimise long theoretical sessions and therefore are able to share skills and experience that are directly applicable in your own clinical setting. All events are led by European or American Diplomates. You will receive a nationally and internationally recognised (VetCEE – www.vetcee.edu) certificate of attendance on completion of each course. We look forward to welcoming you at Upskill.vet!

Upcoming Courses

 

 

See below a list of our upcoming events with more detailed information in the pop-up window. Registration closes 4 weeks before each course; most courses will be limited to 16-20 participants to ensure key interactions with the instructors. Our events are peer-reviewed and acknowledged by VetCEE (EAEVE, EBVS, FVE and UEVP). In case the course is fully booked, please contact us to be added to a waiting list.

Our Philosophy

Upgrade your skills with our courses

What you get

Learn, rehearse and reinforce practical skills
Become familiar with specialised equipment
Procedural understanding
Make use of mentorship from your own clinic
Learn practical decision-making with case discussions
Active learning away from the patient

What we do

Evidence-based medicine
Collaborate with universities and industry-leading partners
Courses in different languages
Face to face teaching
Practical workshops on real and synthetic models
Minimise textbook repetition and prolonged theoretical lectures
View our courses

Your Instructors

Our instructors bring years of didactic experience in academic and non-academic settings as well as many years of working as referral specialists internationally

Matt Matiasovic

DVM, PGCert, MSc, Dipl. ECVS, MRCVS

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Karol Bayer

DVM, Dipl. ECVS, FTA Kleintierchirurgie

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Pavel Slunský

DVM, Dipl. ECVS, MSc (SA), FTA Kleintierchirurgie, FTA Kleintiere

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Mathias Brunnberg

DVM, Dipl. ECVS, MSc (SA), FTA Kleintierchirurgie

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Jakub Kaczmarek

DVM, Dipl. ECVS

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Jan Beránek

DVM, CertCAAPR, Dipl. ECVS, MRCVS

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Marta Kantyka

DVM, Dipl. ECVAA

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Daria Starybrat

DVM, DACVECC, MVetMed, MRCVS

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Julia Tünsmeyer

DVM, Dipl. ECVAA

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Florence Vessieres

DMV, Dipl. ECVIM (CA), DACVIM (SAIM), MRCVS

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Jan Janovec

MVDr, Dipl.ECVS, MRCVS, RCVS Recognised Specialist in Small Animal Surgery

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Viktor Paluš

MVDr., Dipl.ECVN, RCVS Specialist in Veterinary Neurology

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Mark Longley

BVM&S, MSc, GPCertSAS, Dipl.ECVS, MRCVS

Learn More

Renata Stavinohova

MVDr. PhD, PGCertSAOphthal, Dipl.ECVO, MRCVS

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Will Robinson

BVetMed, MSc, BSAVA PGCertSAS, Dipl.ECVS, MRCVS

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Bratislava - the heart of Europe

The historical city on the Danube is within convenient reach from major European cities. Located between Vienna, Budapest and Prague we are optimally positioned to welcome a range of local or distant participants. Both Vienna and Bratislava airports are within convenient reach by airport shuttle

By Car

    • Vienna, Austria – 45min
    • Prague, Czech Rep. – 3h
    • Krakow, Poland – 4.5h
    • Budapest, Hungary – 2h 
    • Munich, Germany – 5h
    • Ljubljana, Slovenia – 4.5h
    • Salzburg, Austria – 3.5h
    • Zagreb, Croatia – 4.5h

By Plane

    • From Bratislava airport – taxi 15min, bus 45min
    • From Vienna airport – shuttle 40min (train/ bus)

By Taxi

We recommend to use the HopIn Taxi app for any taxi journeys in Bratislava:

Android
App Store

Hotel

Please email [email protected] for discounted room rates in these nearby hotels:

Radisson Carlton
Park Inn by Radisson
About Upskill.vet

Upskill.vet was founded by two ECVS Diplomates with a passion for innovative education and the highest standards of patient care. This and our personal regional connection brought us to the desire to create a specialised institution dedicated to practical veterinary teaching in the Central European region. The goal is to deliver exceptional teaching of practical skills and sharing of experience with veterinary practitioners in order to continuously help maintain an excellent level of care of our patients. Courses are offered in different languages to enable access to a broad European audience. Our priority is to provide participants with skills they can translate into their own clinical setting.
Being fully aligned with pragmatic evidence-based medicine we aim to minimise dated teaching techniques including prolonged theoretical lectures and literature repetition. Rather we focus on the interactive aspect of each course and the sharing of relevant tips and tricks. We believe this to be the most effective way of learning and developing your skills. To assure the highest standards, each of our events is led by an EBVS Diplomate as well as peer-reviewed and accredited by VetCEE. Our collaborations with leading veterinary stakeholders allow us provision of high-end services and equipment for our participants. However, Upskill.vet is 100% privately held in order to guarantee independence and a high didactic, scientific and overall educational quality. We are continuously adding new partners, as well as instructors in different specialties and progress and evolution of our premises are essential parts of our philosophy. Additionally, our facility is located in the vibrant Slovak capital Bratislava, which offers great potential for being explored.
Please browse our website for more information and a detailed course schedule.

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