The University of Aberdeen’s planning research portfolio will be boosted with the announcement that the institution will be making three new appointments.
The University is advertising for a Chair in Spatial Planning and two lectureships to enhance the existing team of planning specialists within the School of Geosciences.
The vacancies have arisen following the restructuring of the former Department of Land Economy during the summer of last year. The new structures unite planning and rural specialists with colleagues in Geography and Environment within the School of Geosciences.
Professor Paul Mitchell, Head of the School of Geosciences, said: “This is an excellent opportunity to strengthen a team with a very good track record in teaching and research, and to provide a new focus for planning at the University of Aberdeen.”
Professor Albert Rodger, Head of the College of Physical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, said: “We are in positive and constructive dialogue with the RTPI about the continuity of the accredited planning degree programmes.
“Professional accreditation is an important marker of the high quality of our programmes, and enables our graduates to enter the planning profession as members of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI). Over the summer, we have been talking to the RTPI and have also had tremendous feedback from local practitioners. I believe that, in partnership with the professional bodies and practitioners, we will continue to provide the high calibre graduates the planning profession needs in the North-east and in Scotland generally.”
The University currently offers a range of planning degrees, which are accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), and surveying degrees accredited by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
Robert Upton, Secretary General, RTPI, said: ‘We welcome this recruitment programme, which should give the University of Aberdeen the strength and depth which it needs to continue as a successful planning school with a strong research base.”