SPONSORED EDITORIAL

An interesting talk is set to take place to mark the extraordinary accomplishments and history of Medway’s Natural Resources Institute (NRI).

This year has seen the renowned institute mark 125 years since it was first created as ‘The Imperial Institute’ at the behest of Prince Albert and to celebrate the occasion, a free GREat Medway Talk will be hosted by the University of Greenwich’s Faculty of Engineering and Science on Wednesday, December 11 between 6pm and 8pm.

The Chatham event - which is open to the public - will be led by Professor Andrew Westby who has been the NRI Director since 2010 and is also an expert on Cassava.

The NRI is a specialist research, development and education organisation of the University of Greenwich with a focus on food, agriculture, environment, and sustainable livelihoods.

Some of the remarkable pioneering work at the institute includes locust control, safeguarding against foodborne diseases, controlling disease-transmitting species including tsetse and blackfly, and the discovery of aflatoxin – a family of dangerous toxins found on food crops.

Click here to register for free for GREat Medway Talk: Celebrating 125 years of Sustainable Development

Using an interdisciplinary approach, the NRI undertakes important research, teaching, training and consultancy to address interrelated global challenges affecting everyone from local farmers and consumers, to the UK food industry, to smallholder communities in the developing world.

The institute frequently teams up with other organisations as well to tackle other important issues including poverty, food and nutrition security, sustainable agriculture, climate change, gender and social equality, responsible production and consumption, exploitation of natural resources and environmental management.

The NRI’s work also addresses the UN Sustainable Development Goals – a globally agreed plan of action to achieve sustainable development for all by 2030 – and is organised through various research groups and development programmes.

As a principal investigator and researcher, Andrew has travelled extensively across the world working on collaborative projects from counterparts in all continents.

Click here to register for free for GREat Medway Talk: Celebrating 125 years of Sustainable Development

He has led many large multi-national and multi-disciplinary research projects with funding won from a wide range of donors including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, UK Department for International Development, the European Commission RTD Framework and EuropeAid EDF programmes, Food Standards Agency and the Common Fund for Commodities.

Those interested in registering for the ‘GREat Medway Talk: Celebrating 125 years of Sustainable Development’ event can click here.

The University of Greenwich’s Medway Campus is located at Central Avenue in Chatham (ME4 4TB).