HRH The Princess Royal to launch RAU equine school

HRH The Princess Royal will officially open the Royal Agricultural University’s (RAU) new School of Equine Management and Science (SEMS) at a special launch event on Monday 15 September.

HRH The Princess Royal will officially open the Royal Agricultural University’s (RAU) new School of Equine Management and Science (SEMS) at a special launch event on Monday 15 September.

To celebrate the new School, the University will hold a meeting with invited guests and industry experts including RAU alumni on ‘Education, Research and the Horse Industry for the 21^st Century’. It will be chaired by Mike Tucker, Chair of the SEMS Advisory Board and attended by HRH The Princess Royal. The conference will include talks by Tim Hadaway, FEI Director of Games and Championships and former student, and Dr Emmeline Hill, co-founder of Equinome.

Guests will be invited to mingle with sponsors and see RAU alumni presentations at coffee. The event will close with a buffet lunch.

The creation of new School of Equine Management and Science is an exciting new development that will focus and enhance our undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Strong industry links ensure that course content is relevant and up to date, tailored to meet the changing needs of the employer.

The courses encourage interaction with leading stakeholders in the UK and international industries. These links are enforced by international study trips and the very successful placement process where students work out in industry for the period of 20 weeks.

It will also provide a clear identity for our research specialisms in nutrition, genetics, health and welfare and further enhance our USP in applied equine research.

Dr Meriel Moore-Colyer is the first Dean of the new School, and is committed to the application of both pure and applied equine research to the horse industry. A registered Animal Scientist with the Society of Biology and an active researcher, Meriel has a wide range of publications on equine nutrition and the health and welfare of the stabled horse. She has developed valuable links with a number of academic institutions involved with equine research and management, and worked with numerous UK-based feed companies in product development.

Graduates from the School’s two undergraduate degrees; BSc (Hons) Equine management and BSc (Hons) International Equine and Agricultural Business Management, and MSc in Applied Equine Management are highly employable and have gone on to pursue a diverse range of careers.

Science-orientated graduates are driving technical innovation in equine sports, education, nutrition and welfare, while others have become business managers, fundraising officers for animal and veterinary charities, journalists for national equine publications, and marketing professionals.

The University ranks top in the land-based sector, and in the top 10% in the UK, for graduate employment, with 96.3% of undergraduates and 97.5% of postgraduates in employment of further student within six months.