Contacting the RAU over Christmas

23 Dec 2021

The University will be closed from 24 December 2020 to 4 January 2021 for the Christmas break

However, if you have an emergency, our contact number during the holiday period is 01285 889834 / 07960031821.


Enquiries relating to Covid-19 can be raised by emailing Covid19@rau.ac.uk. Please note a response may take up to 72 hours during this period. 


The RAU wishes you a safe and happy Christmas.

New generation of on-farm experiments can transform agriculture

23 Dec 2021

Research carried out with farmers in the driving seat is crucial to finding practical answers to the urgent problems facing agriculture, such as climate change, according to an international team of researchers including the Royal Agricultural University’s Professor Tom MacMillan.

A new study, which reports on experiments involving more than 30,000 farms across eight countries, was carried out by an international team including Professor MacMillan and UK colleagues at the University of Gloucestershire and the independent agricultural consultants ADAS.

Improving the safety and quality of our global agri-food supply chains

14 Dec 2021

A new book, edited by the Royal Agricultural University’s Professor Louise Manning, has highlighted how malicious contamination of food at vulnerable points in agri-food supply chains is a global issue and a major threat to consumer health.

Developing smart agri-food supply chains: Using technology to improve safety and quality features contributions from more than 20 internationally established researchers in the field of food safety and quality, and is an authoritative reference on current methods and protocols used to assess product i

Abused cocker spaniel puppy Marshall and his friends train for new lives as police search dogs

3 December 2021

A young cocker spaniel who was rescued after being found having been beaten while he was hanging off the ground by his lead, has been given a second chance as a police dog.

Marshall, who was less than a year old when he was rescued earlier this year, is now almost at the end of his six-week training course, much of which has been undertaken using the facilities at the Royal Agricultural University’s (RAU) campus in Cirencester.

Four RAU agriculture students awarded Sustainable Agriculture Bursary

02 Dec 2021

Four RAU agriculture students have been chosen as recipients of this year’s Jordans Cereals and The Prince’s Countryside Fund Sustainable Agriculture Bursary.

The students - Phoebe Collins, Alexandra Godfrey, Jen Hawkes, and Alex Young - will all receive a £3,000 cash award in their first year as well as a further £1,000, from the RAU, in both their second and third years of study.

Uzbekistan Ministry of Agriculture team visits the Royal Agricultural University

19 Nov 2021

A delegation from the Ministry of Agriculture in Uzbekistan visited the Royal Agricultural University (RAU) today with a view to collaborating with the RAU to develop the curriculum for a new International Agriculture University (IAU) in Uzbekistan.

Professor Munira Aminova, Project Leader for IAU, and Alan France, adviser to the Uzbekistan Minister of Agriculture, met with senior staff at the RAU including Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Neil Ravenscroft; Steve Finch, Head of International Programmes; and Finance Director Simon Costa.

Royal Agricultural University offers sustainable agriculture scholarship for students from Nepal, Turkey, and India

19 Nov 2021

Postgraduate students from Nepal, Turkey, and India will have the opportunity to apply for a scholarship to study sustainable agriculture and food security at the Royal Agricultural University (RAU) under a joint initiative between the British Council and the UK Government’s GREAT Britain Campaign.

The GREAT scholarships are designed to attract some of the brightest postgraduate applicants from around the world to study at UK universities.

The ethics of digital technology in the food sector – the future of data sharing

12 Nov 2021

Imagine a world in which smart packaging for supermarket-ready meals updates you in real-time to tell you about carbon footprints, gives live warnings on product recalls, and instant safety alerts because allergens were detected unexpectedly in the factory.

But how much extra energy would be used powering such a system? And what if an accidental alert meant you were told to throw your food away for no reason?

Angolan Ambassador meets students and staff at the Royal Agricultural University

26 Oct 2021

The Angolan Ambassador to the UK, His Excellency Geraldo Nunda, visited the Royal Agricultural University (RAU) last week and met with students and staff.

The visit to the University’s Cirencester campus was part of a two-day programme in the region organised by Tewkesbury MP, and the Prime Minister’s trade envoy to Angola, Laurence Robertson.

The Ambassador and his team were met by senior RAU staff and students before listening to presentations from academics and lecturers and visiting the University’s agri-tech incubator Farm491.

Dr Lorraine Thomas joins the RAU in new role

18 Oct 2021

Dr Lorraine Thomas, who has previously held senior leadership roles as Academic Director (Quality and Employability) at Anglia Ruskin University, London, and as Executive Dean at Newman University (a small and specialist university), has joined the Royal Agricultural University (RAU) as the University’s first Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education and Students).

Lorraine, who has worked in the education sector for more than 30 years and has experience across a range of institutions from schools to universities, is a member of the RAU’s Executive Team and the Vice Cha