Students were encouraged to work collaboratively and apply best practices to solve realistic and challenging breeder management scenarios at the sixth Aviagen Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Production Management School, Breeder Module. Thirty three students from 14 countries attended the week-long course, entitled “Optimizing Parent Stock Performance and Economic Returns,” held between Aug. 27 and Sept. 2 in Edinburgh.
The interactive and highly participative module saw Aviagen tutors and external experts cover areas of ventilation, flock health, nutrition, data analysis, rearing and laying management. Students were encouraged to work together, using each other’s experiences and expertise to practically identify and solve problems through a series of group and individual exercises.
“Aviagen has a long and proud history of providing education to the poultry industry,” said Michael Longley, school director, and global technical transfer manager, Aviagen. “This latest module was based on investigating breeder performance and identifying problems by using a realistic business case study. The students worked together in small teams to achieve a positive result from the case study, which they then presented to the rest of the group. We always encourage attendees to share experiences with tutors and fellow students to help them broaden their knowledge. We want our students to enjoy themselves in their learning experience and leave equipped with information that can be directly applied to their jobs when they return to their own companies.”
Commenting on the module, student Johanna Hilmarsdottir, farm manager for Reykjagardur hf in Iceland, said, “The course was great and in particular the chance to work on a business case study and discuss general breeder management was of most value. As someone who has been in the industry a long time, it was great to hear fresh perspectives on modern business issues.”
Woothipong Moca, general manager for CP Standart Gida, Turkey, also commented, “I found the parts of the module that focused on ventilation calculation and technology most useful for my line of work. The use of pivot table analysis, identification of health issues and rearing - critical period management, were of great interest to me. I believe the knowledge I have gained will help me achieve a better level of performance management within my own company.”
