The Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) is a subdivision of 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, 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]

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".^[3]

Alumni

Notable alumni include:

• Bahar Dutt, Indian television journalist and environmental editor
• Sanjay Gubbi, Indian conservation biologist
• Rachel Ikemeh, Nigerian conservationist
• Winnie Kiiru, Kenyan biologist and elephant conservationist
• Patricia Medici, Brazilian conservation biologist^[4]
• Jeanneney Rabearivony, Malagasy ecologist and herpetologist
• Rajeev Raghavan, Indian conservation biologist
• Alexandra Zimmermann, wildlife conservationist^[5]