Posted: April 1, 2019
The Scunthorpe college is one of only 2 general further education colleges in the UK to utilise the Zoological Information Management (ZIMS), which is a globally used piece of software for the management of data on animals.
North Lindsey College is 1 of 25 educational partners globally and 1 of 5 colleges in the UK that are current educational partners.
The software was created by Species360, with 44 years’ of experience in sharing data on animals they hold over 10 million current and historical animal records and to advance species conservation efforts worldwide and is used by 15,000 Zoos and Aquarium staff, from over 1,000 animal collections in over 90 countries every single day.
The work that Species360 do with ZIMS is instrumental in conservation efforts worldwide and is much more than data management on animal and works to improve husbandry methods, managing animal stud books and holds medical data and information. Animal keepers, veterinary staff and educational professionals worldwide use the software and now North Lindsey College staff and students will have the same access to this resource.
ZIMS is also trusted by a number of organisations including the International Union for Conservation and Nature (IUCN), Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and the Department for Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
Jack Anderson ‘Having ZIMS as data management for our collection of animals really sets us aside from other similar colleges that have an animal collection. Not only does it allow us to manage our collection of 72 different species of animal more effectively it allows us to train students on how to use this software effectively putting them in a great position should they wish to progress onto a career within a zoological collection. The software also allows us to have direct contact with over 1000 different collections worldwide which opens up lots of opportunities for adding to our current animal collection at North Lindsey.’