Research at agricultural university described as ‘world leading’

Over 10% of the research by The Royal Agricultural University (RAU) has been independently accredited as either ‘internationally excellent or world leading’ by the Research Excellence Framework (REF).

The REF is the official system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions.

Much of the remainder of the RAU’s research was categorised as internationally and nationally recognised.

The RAU’s recent research activities have included those on agricultural science and policy; crop improvement, sustainable land management, equine nutrition, health and welfare, food supply chain, food safety and quality and agribusiness and entrepreneurship.

The number of PhD students studying at the RAU has more than doubled in the last year and there has been an increase in the number of research-active members of staff.

The RAU has also invested heavily in new research facilities.

This year the new £1.2m research and innovation centre opened on one of the university’s two farms.

The university’s recent graduate employability rates are 97.5% for postgraduates and 96.3% for undergraduates.

“The RAU is committed to providing research that is innovative and accessible to the industries that we serve, and our Rural Innovation Centre, opened since the REF was carried out, is driving this agenda for ourselves and the land based industries,” said RAU principal, professor Chris Gaskell.

“Enterprise and research are needed to ensure that we can continue to feed ourselves while protecting and improving the environment in which we live,” he added.

For more information visit www.rau.ac.uk