SRUC to invest £1m in Craibstone campus

An investment of nearly £1 million in new agricultural teaching facilities in Aberdeen aims to promote the skills and knowledge required to meet the future needs of the country’s agricultural industry.

SRUC's Craibstone campus.

The Scottish Rural College (SRUC) has revealed it will spend more than £900,000 creating a new engineering workshop and demonstration areas for farm machinery, while a new livestock shed and animal handling equipment will also be put in place at the Craibstone campus.

The investment comes after £50,000 was spent earlier this year to create new student welfare and small group teaching facilities at the site. It is expected that the latest work will be completed in phases, with the project set to be finished by the end of 2022.

Professor Wayne Powell, Principal and Chief Executive of SRUC, said students would use the farm to gain qualifications from National Certificates through to MSc degree-level qualifications, as well as supporting continued professional development.

He said: “Helping to prepare agricultural students with the skills and knowledge to move with the times and take advantage of new opportunities has been and always will be an important part of what we do at SRUC.

“This is not just an investment in buildings, but an investment in the food producers of tomorrow who will be at the vanguard of addressing climate change and biodiversity loss through adoption and deployment of new innovative technologies and land use practices.”

Other planned projects include a veterinary clinical skills hub, new equine facilities, and improvements to the student experience across the campus.