Landmark 2016

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CONTENTS
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Welcome...
Welcome to the 15th issue of
Landmark, the annual review
of the Royal Agricultural
University. Dedicated to
celebrating the outstanding
achievements of our
alumni, students, and staff,
Landmark delivers our latest
news, and showcases the
success of our graduates
throughout the world.
There have been lots of
exciting developments at the
RAU in the past year, and
we’ve become particularly
good at winning awards. In
March 2016, we were named
sustainability champion at The
Guardian University Awards
2016, which recognised the
huge progress we’ve made in
embedding sustainability into
all aspects of the University
campus and curriculum. We
were also runners up in the
entrepreneurship category,
celebrating our enterprise
agenda at a national level.
It’s also an exciting time
for agritech innovation. As
the agricultural and related
industries are on the cusp of a
technical revolution, our new
Farm491 initiative provides
start-up facilities for budding
entrepreneurs and start-up
businesses – a number of
which are run by our talented
and business-savvy students.
2016 marks a period of
change for the University. Our
Vice-Chancellor, Professor
Chris Gaskell, and Deputy
Vice-Chancellor, Professor
Paul Davies, will be retiring
this summer after years of
dedication to the RAU. Their
commitment and enthusiasm
has driven the University
forward immeasurably and
we’ll be very sad to see them
go – although we did enjoy a
jubilant staff lunch held in their
honour. In September, we look
forward to welcoming the new
Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jo
Price, to the RAU, and starting
an exciting new chapter in our
prestigious 171 year history.
This year also marks our
Patron, HM The Queen’s 90th
birthday, and we’ve dedicated
this issue to Her Majesty with
our retro front cover. We had
a wonderful time celebrating
HM’s birthday at our Patron’s
Lunch for Cirencester street
party. Joined by thousands
of members of the local
community, we recreated
the festivities on the Mall
in London and enjoyed
picnics and Pimms galore.
Thank you to everyone who
contributed to this edition
of Landmark. We value the
input of our readers, so
please continue to send us
your feedback, news, and
suggestions for stories via
Shelly Hampshire
Editor
35-38
Sports reports
46
A head
for
hops
41-42
Out of Africa
51-52
Ciren weddings
53-54
InForm
The Ciren society pages
YOUR
NETWORK
You can find out about alumni
news by visiting the RAU
alumni network
It’s now even easier to
keep in touch with the
University and your friends.
You can modify contact
information, manage a
personal profile, make
online donations to the
RAU’s fundraising campaign,
and view RAU alumni
event information.
S
A climate of change
Oumou Koulibaly is dedicated to
improving the lives of millions of
people in rural Africa.
49-50