LIVE: the creation of an academy for veterinary education.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a new educational development and research program; to describe the vision which created the LIVE Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) at the Royal Veterinary College, University of London, UK; and to give details of the educational developments and research that have been pursued in LIVE since 2005. LIVE's purpose, to act as an "incubator" to help support all those interested in veterinary teaching and learning, and associated research, is discussed. The paper describes how the aims of the initial funding bid are being realized through the development of a multi-layered strategy. The discussion concludes by suggesting that new faculty models such as the US Academy Network for Medical Educators or veterinary hubs such as LIVE could act as catalysts for the development of a new breed of clinical teachers and educational researchers, empowered by innovative teaching and learning methods relevant to both medical and veterinary education.