Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology

The Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) is a subdivision and research centre of the School of Anthropology and Conservation at the University of Kent, started in 1989 and named in honour of the famous British naturalist Gerald Durrell. It was the first institute in the United Kingdom to award undergraduate and postgraduate degrees and diplomas in the fields of conservation biology, ecotourism, and biodiversity management. It consists of 22 academic staff, being six Professors, seven Readers and nine Lecturers and Senior Lecturers, as well as an Advisory Board consisting of 14 conservationists from government, business and the NGO sector.^[1]

History[]

DICE's graduate degree programme began in 1991 with a class of seven international students. Since then it has trained over 1,200 people from 101 countries, including 322 people from Lower- and Middle-Income countries in Africa, Asia, Oceania and South America. The founder of DICE is Professor Ian Swingland, who retired from the University of Kent in 1999, and the first Director was Dr. Mike Walkey, who retired in 2002.^[2] In 2017, Ian Swingland was convicted of conspiring to commit fraud by false representation through a fake HIV cure, receiving a two year sentence, suspended for 18 months.^[3] In the process, Swingland was stripped of his OBE. DICE are still yet to release a statement in regards to Swingland's actions.

Awards[]

In 2019 DICE was awarded a Queen's Anniversary Prize for "pioneering education, capacity building and research in global nature conservation to protect species and ecosystems and benefit people".^[4]

Alumni[]

Notable alumni include:

• Alexandra Zimmermann, wildlife conservationist^[5]

References[]