Hello, I'm Varity and we're here today at the Alliston Center which is home to Farm491 and today marks the end of the mixed land use challenge prize. Our six finalists who we chose from the pool of original entrants are pitching today to our panel of judges. They will each pitch their product or their service as a possible solution or as a means of relieving some of the competing pressures on the land in the UK, and we will have a day of pitching and when that's finished, our judges will deliberate.

My RAU experience

I decided to come to RAU to enhance my knowledge in the agri-business space. The university's reputation in these fields aligned perfectly with my passion for creating solutions to the challenges we currently face to achieve the SDG goals.

My RAU experience

I joined the RAU because I was looking for a course that integrated business with agriculture. There have been many highlights studying at the RAU, however one that stands out was when during one of my modules we had guest lectures come and talk about their respective area of expertise. I’ve found that the small size of the university means that you are known personally by your lecturers and they are more willing to have one on one chats and respond to emails, and having those smaller lecture sessions results in more detailed learning.

Life is governed by strategy and at every point in time you need somebody who can help you to develop your strategy in your business, and I tell my students something - you are going to be paid for your brains, you're going to be paid for the decisions you take based on your understanding of strategy.

Enterprise is really important as a fundamental skill. Students get involved from day one at the RAU with the Enterprise Programme.

At the end of last year we conducted some focus groups and from that we have launched a new enterprise offering. This will be support in three different ways.

To start off with we have Ignite Inspire, this is for all students, we will be conducting workshops, we will have guest speakers along, and this is for everyone to just offer some inspiration for them.

The food and agriculture supply side is under considerable pressure and it requires innovation thinking, it requires leaders to be able to respond to those challenges to ensure we have sustainable supply systems, resilient food systems and be able to respond to the climate action needs.

Food and agriculture is right at the heart of those issues. The MBA programme is designed for those that have had a bit of experience and can build on that experience to develop their own leadership skills.

We have this new novel MBA in water management driven by industry and practitioners looking at a holistic view of integrated water management and the importance of water resources.

What's unique about this new MBA in Water Management, with a collaboration between WRC and the RAU, is our 100 years of expertise in water and waste management, and also the RAU's focus on the interface with how that impacts the environment.

My RAU experience

The course is a great springboard for anyone wanting to launch their career in business, especially agribusiness. It gives you a strong grounding in fundamental business practices whilst allowing you to further specialise in an area of interest. I completed my work placement within the public relations office at McLaren, which combined the theory I’d learnt with my passion for motor racing.

This course proved invaluable in preparing me for my future career progression.