Biography 

Senior Lecturer/Research Fellow

Dr Christie is currently Co-I on the British Academy ODA Climate Change Challenge project ‘Giving Us Voice’: Curating community perspectives on the impact of climate change on marine resource exploitation in Pemba, Zanzibar and Mafia with Prof. Mark Horton and Dr Elgidius Ichumbaki (University of Dar es Salaam).

She teaches on our MSc in Cultural Heritage Management and MSc in Heritage and Archaeology programmes.

My RAU experience

I chose to study Rural Land Management at the RAU because I had studied countryside management at school, and became interested in the management of rural areas. This course covers many interesting aspects of the subject, such as contemporary issues like food security, and I have enjoyed trips to farms, Seizencote (a heritage property trip to an estate in the Cotswolds) and to RAU Swindon campus. 

As well as the daily humanitarian damage caused by the weapons deployed in the Ukraine Russia conflict, the long-lasting pollution to the Ukrainian farmland, from contamination by heavy metals in the Russian bombs, could have devastating impact on human health long after the war has ended.

RAU researchers, who have been working with colleagues at Sumy National Agrarian University in Ukraine to study heavy metal pollution in Ukrainian farmland caused by Russian bombs since the Russian invasion

The RAU’s collaboration with the new University of Al Dhaid in the UAE will focus on technological developments to address food security and maintain animal health.

His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, ruler of the Emirate of Sharjah in the UAE and President of the University of Al Dhaid, has signed a collaborative agreement with the Royal Agricultural University.

My RAU experience

My decision to study at the RAU followed a visit with my parents on an undergraduate open day. After only a few hours I had decided that this was the university where I wanted to study.  I instantly took to the layout of the university and preferred the smaller environment the campus offered.

The most enjoyable aspect about studying at the RAU was the people I met. I was lucky to be placed with very likeminded people in halls in my first year, and this handful of people have become lifelong friends.

ETA stands for Electronic Travel Authorisation and it is a digital permission to travel to the UK. The ETA is broadly for visitors who do need a visa for short stays to the UK, or who do not already have a UK immigration status prior to travelling.

ETA is not a visa. If you travel to the UK using an ETA you will still need to apply for a visitor visa upon arrival in the UK.

ETA is multi-use and is valid for two years. It will replace the single use Electronic Visa Waiver (EVW). It is applied for before you travel to the UK.