The Natural Resources Institute (NRI), at Chatham in south-east England, UK, joined the University of Greenwich in May 1996. NRI was formerly the executive agency of the UK Government's Overseas Development Administration (now renamed the Department for International Development) and it has a long history stretching back over a century to its origins as part of the Imperial Institute in 1894. NRI is an internationally renowned centre of excellence for research, consultancy and training in the management of renewable natural resources. The Institute employs over 250 natural scientists, technologists and social scientists in five Departments: Environmental Sciences, Food Security, Natural Resources Management, Pest Management, and Social Sciences. Typically, one third of these professional staff are working overseas either on long-term assignments or on shorter visits for field trials, consultancies or training courses, which in any one year will usually involve about 80 countries. The University of Greenwich offers its 18,500 students a wide range of subjects to study at its five linked campuses in south-east London and north-west Kent, and in its network of local centres and associate colleges in this region. NRI shares the University's Medway Campus with the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences and the School of Engineering.

Expertise

NRI's key strengths are in its capability to provide services across the continuum from strategic research through adaptive research to implementation and technology transfer, and in its multidisciplinary mix of skills in natural sciences, technology and social sciences relating to sustainable development of natural resources. The key areas of NRI expertise are sustainable agriculture (including horticulture and tree crops), integrated pest management (including control of disease vectors and plant pathogens), environmental sciences (biodiversity, environmental assessment, remote sensing), food technology (storage, processing, food safety, quality), farming systems, social sciences, economics, marketing, forestry, livestock, and aquatic resources (including fisheries). NRI leads the University's research in agriculture (including food science and technology), which scored highly in the latest research assessment by the Higher Education Funding Council for England. Since joining the University, NRI has rapidly increased the numbers of research students registered for MPhils and PhDs under the supervision of its scientists, and more places are available for such postgraduate researchers.

Facilities

Photo credit: NRI

NRI is based at the University's Medway Campus in Kent, housed in historic buildings that were formerly a training base for the Royal Navy but were completely renovated and converted for NRI in the late 1980s. NRI's facilities include: specialized biological and biochemical laboratories for experimental and analytical studies; an agro-processing laboratory; a remote-sensing suite for reception and analysis of satellite data; glasshouses for growing tropical crops; controlled temperature and humidity rooms to simulate a range of climatic conditions; and a training suite designed for participatory learning. The Medway Campus library, to which students have full access, includes NRI's extensive collection of literature on tropical and subtropical agriculture, unrivalled in the UK and beyond. The Campus has two Halls of Residence, a sports hall and a fitness suite, with facilities for badminton, tennis, croquet, 5-a-side football, circuit training, rugby, aerobics, netball and fencing. The Students' Union runs a shop and a bar/restaurant. In keeping with the maritime history of the site, there is a sailing club, which owns four dinghies and sails them in the Medway estuary close by. The Campus is adjacent to Chatham Historic Dockyard, and the Medway Towns are rich in cultural history and tradition whilst also providing all the modern amenities one would expect of a major conurbation. The countryside of Kent (known as the 'Garden of England') lies to the south and east, whilst transport routes to the west give easy access to central London and beyond by train or express coach. To the south-east, the Ports of Dover and Folkestone, and Ashford International Terminal, provide ferry or railway access to continental Europe.

Diploma and Masters courses

The provision of training for professional development and technology transfer has long been an integral part of NRI's activities in technical co-operation and international development consultancies, and in some practical subjects this led NRI to develop intensive and substantial training courses. The first of these, in the storage and handling of durable agricultural commodities, was introduced in 1972. The second, in the post-harvest management of perishable fruit, vegetables and root crops, started in 1980. These proved popular with students from developing countries and, when the University of Greenwich first came to Medway in 1994, both courses were validated for a Post-Graduate Diploma, with the option of registering for a Masters degree by successful completion of a research project and thesis, either full-time at NRI or, usually, part-time in the student's home country. These two courses, in Grain Storage Management and Post-Harvest Horticulture, are now being prepared for delivery by distance-learning, starting in 1999. Since 1997, NRI has also offered an MSc (or Diploma) in Sustainable Agriculture, aimed at professionals seeking greater familiarity with the technology for sustainable agriculture and the developmental background to it, and wishing to gain experience in researching a related problem of individual interest. Starting in September 1998, NRI is also offering a generic MSc (or Diploma) course in Natural Resources. Initially, this generic course will have four possible specialist routes: Post-Harvest Technology; Information Systems for Environmental Monitoring; Plant Health and Protection; and Ecosystems Management. It is expected that this choice of specialist routes to the Natural Resources degree or diploma will be steadily expanded in response to demand.

Short courses

Training in many specialist aspects of natural resource management can be provided in a variety of short courses, including: vocational courses varying from two weeks to three months; formal courses leading to a Post-Graduate Certificate or earning credit points towards a Diploma or Masters Degree; practical training in specific methodologies and technologies (ranging from participatory appraisal methods to fruit ripening techniques); and customized courses for clients with specific needs. Common topics are named in NRI's list of available short courses, but training in other aspects of natural resource management can be provided on demand. Course content is adapted to meet the needs of the individual students or the institutional client.

In-country training

Many of NRI's training courses can be delivered in-country on demand, and the course content is adapted to the client's needs. Typically, the course leader makes a preparatory visit to review these needs, determine the required learning outcomes and course content, and arrange the necessary human and physical resources for course delivery. NRI course staff work with local counterparts to develop their own training skills by participation in the delivery of the course. NRI staff have a wide range of language skills but are also experienced in teaching via interpreters. Case-studies, examples and practical exercises are tailored to local needs, and are usually based on the recent research and consultancy experience of NRI staff in the region.

Further information

NRI's courses (post-graduate taught courses, research studies, and short courses for professional development) are described in the 'On course' section of this issue of New Agriculturist. The University of Greenwich offers a wide range of undergraduate and post-graduate courses in science and technology, environment, business and humanities at its campuses in south-east London and north-west Kent (http://www.gre.ac.uk). For further information on NRI's research, consultancy and training, visit the web site at http://www.nri.org or e-mail the Training Officer, Jane Pilcher.

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