Olivia Rohll

My RAU experience

I was looking to try something completely different, having spent the previous six years working in corporate consulting in London. The GDA was perfect for me since it was aimed at people looking for a high level of academic study, but was tailored to be accessible to someone with no knowledge of agriculture.

What I gained from the RAU 

One highlight was an assignment for which we had to produce a three-year farm business plan, with full forecast financials. As intimidating as it was when we first heard about it, there was really no better way to truly understand how a farm business operates, and start to feel confident talking about key concepts.

Something I thought would be challenging when I signed up to do the GDA was finding somewhere to stay on the nights that it didn’t make sense to commute back to my home in London. The university was able to offer me a room on campus for a low cost, and often at short notice, which saved me a huge amount of travel time and expense. 

I would absolutely recommend the GDA for anyone looking to get into agriculture. It’s an absolutely fascinating course which you’ll get so much out of. Beware though, the enthusiasm and passion for the sector at the RAU is infectious!