About me
Annett is an innovative veterinary educator with a special interest in skills laboratory advancements, model and simulator development and the use of technology to enhance student learning. She is also an experienced veterinary reproduction specialist with a passion for all aspects of equine breeding related procedures, and with a strong background in academia and research.
Annett was born in Germany, and obtained her MedVet degree from the University of Leipzig, Germany, and her DrMedVet from the VetSuisse Faculty, University of Zurich in Switzerland. She moved to South Africa in 2004 where she completed a residency in Theriogenology at the Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria. Annett became a Diplomate of the American College of Theriogenologists (ACT) in 2007 and obtained her MSc (cum laude) from the Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, in 2010, and her PhD from Utrecht University, Netherlands, in 2020. Annett has worked as a reproduction specialist in University as well as private practice settings, and has been actively involved in veterinary education since 2014. Her vision for skills laboratory training within veterinary education is to enhance the combination of model training with technology while providing an engaging environment for students to foster hands-on and cognitive skills simultaneously. Annett has presented numerous papers and posters at international veterinary education meetings such as Veterinary Education Symposia (VetEd) and International Veterinary Simulation in Teaching conferences (InVest). She was also the chair of the organising committee for the 2017 InVest congress which was successfully hosted in South Africa.
Annett’s research passion lies in veterinary education and more specifically in teaching model validation, and aims at enhancing student learning and advancing veterinary education. Her PhD studies focused on student training of bovine trans-rectal palpation and pregnancy diagnoses skills, and have led to novel ways to explore hands-on skills training. Annett is furthermore interested in equine reproduction related research topics. Annett's skills laboratory project "Development, validation and implementation of in-house manufactured veterinary models for innovative teaching of clinical skills" was awarded the Bronze Winner for the Category Regional Award Africa at the renowned international Wharton QS Stars Reimagine Education Awards (Philadelphia, USA) in 2015, and Annett was awarded the University of Pretoria’s Faculty of Veterinary Science's "Teaching Innovation and Excellence" award in 2018.
Since arriving in Perth in December 2019, Annett has maintained research collaborations with the University of Pretoria, has worked as a research consultant for the Women and Infant Research Foundation, Perth, and as an equine reproduction consultant at Murray Veterinary Services, WA, before joining the School of Veterinary Medicine at Murdoch University.