The first cohort of Medicine students have embarked on the path to becoming a doctor at the University of Exeter Medical School.
The 130 students enrolled on Tuesday for the five-year degree which will see them working in NHS Trusts across the South West.
Professor Steve Thornton, dean of the medical school, said: "This is a real milestone for us, and we're extremely excited to welcome our first Medicine students.
"The NHS is under extreme pressure from an increasingly aging population amid squeezed resources. Our ethos is to train the leaders of the future to rise to this challenge."
Many of the new students will later take up placements with partners at hospital Trusts in Truro, Exeter, North Devon and Torbay.
The medics are among a record 4,600 students starting courses at the university this month after it expanded its intake by 600.
