The Defence Academy is headquartered at what used to be the Royal Military College of Science site at Shrivenham in southwestern Oxfordshire; it delivers education and training there and in a number of other sites. The majority of training is postgraduate with many courses being accredited for the award of civilian qualifications.
The formation of the Defence Academy consolidated education and training delivered by a number of different establishments into a single organisational and budgetary structure, intended to improve efficiency, reduce duplication of effort and align delivery to defence requirements. The Defence Academy is also responsible for the maintenance of relationships with the UK academic establishment and with military and naval service educational institutions worldwide. Non technical research is carried out for the development of doctrine and analysis of the international security environment.
The formation of the Defence Academy consolidated education and training delivered by a number of different establishments into a single organisational and budgetary structure, intended to improve efficiency, reduce duplication of effort and align delivery to defence requirements. The Defence Academy is also responsible for the maintenance of relationships with the UK academic establishment and with military and naval service educational institutions worldwide. Non technical research is carried out for the development of doctrine and analysis of the international security environment.
The Royal Military College of Science traced its history back to the Military Society of Woolwich, founded by two artillery officers in 1772 'for the theoretical, practical and experimental study of gunnery'. The Society did not outlast the Napoleonic Wars; but in 1839 officers proposed the formation of an Institute to train artillery officers. This led to the establishment the following year of the Royal Artillery Institution "for the study of science and modern languages".
In 1885 the Department of Artillery Studies moved from the Institution into Red Barracks, Woolwich and was renamed Artillery College. At the same time its courses were made available to all officers of the Army and the Royal Marines, not just those of the Artillery. Artificer training was also offered by the College. In the early 20th century new chairs were established, alongside that of the 'Bashforth Professor of Mathematics and Ballistics', with the appointment of Professors of Chemistry (1900), Electricity (1903 - later renamed Electrical and Mechanical Engineering) and Physics (1918). In 1889 the College further expanded and a commandant was appointed; in 1899 it was renamed Ordnance College, before reverting again to its former name in 1918. Courses were suspended for the duration of the First World War.
After World War I the College continued to expand and it took over the whole of Red Barracks; in 1927 it became the Military College of Science, reflecting its now wider remit. By 1939 there were 22 civilian academic staff and the College was more akin to a University in its operation - albeit with military instructors continuing to provide specialist teaching in the Royal Arsenal alongside the academic subjects which were taught in Red Barracks.
At the start of WW2 the college was moved from Woolwich, which was vulnerable to aerial bombing. It moved, initially to the artillery ranges at Lydd in Kent, then scattering to various locations (the Artillery Equipment section to Stoke-on-Trent, Fire Control Instruments to Bury, Mechanical Traction to Rhyl and (later) Tank Technology to Chobham) until after the war, when the college was reconstituted and reopened at Beckett Hall in Shrivenham. (The Rhyl section, however, was renamed the Royal Artillery Mechanical Traction School and moved instead to Bordon).
At Shrivenham the College was organised into four Faculties: Mathematics and Physics, Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering and Instrument Technology. Military instruction was, for the first time, absorbed into the academic Faculties; it was overseen by three Military Directors of Studies (in Weapons, Fighting Vehicles and Fire Direction). After the war the college was granted formal recognition by London University, enabling its students to be examined for the award of degrees. The college also provided for postgraduate studies in such specialist areas as Guided Weapons Systems and Nuclear Science and Technology and was allowed to develop as a centre for research as well as teaching. In 1953, the college was granted its "Royal" title and became the Royal Military College of Science ('RMCS').
In 1984 Cranfield University became the main academic provider of the college. A contract entered into in November 2005 extended the Cranfield relationship to 2028. In 2004 the Royal Military College of Science amalgamated with the Defence Leadership Centre to create the Defence College of Management and Technology ('DCMT'). Then in 2009 DCMT itself became part of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, and was therefore renamed the Defence Academy - College of Management and Technology (DA-CMT).
After World War I the College continued to expand and it took over the whole of Red Barracks; in 1927 it became the Military College of Science, reflecting its now wider remit. By 1939 there were 22 civilian academic staff and the College was more akin to a University in its operation - albeit with military instructors continuing to provide specialist teaching in the Royal Arsenal alongside the academic subjects which were taught in Red Barracks.
At the start of WW2 the college was moved from Woolwich, which was vulnerable to aerial bombing. It moved, initially to the artillery ranges at Lydd in Kent, then scattering to various locations (the Artillery Equipment section to Stoke-on-Trent, Fire Control Instruments to Bury, Mechanical Traction to Rhyl and (later) Tank Technology to Chobham) until after the war, when the college was reconstituted and reopened at Beckett Hall in Shrivenham. (The Rhyl section, however, was renamed the Royal Artillery Mechanical Traction School and moved instead to Bordon).
At Shrivenham the College was organised into four Faculties: Mathematics and Physics, Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering and Instrument Technology. Military instruction was, for the first time, absorbed into the academic Faculties; it was overseen by three Military Directors of Studies (in Weapons, Fighting Vehicles and Fire Direction). After the war the college was granted formal recognition by London University, enabling its students to be examined for the award of degrees. The college also provided for postgraduate studies in such specialist areas as Guided Weapons Systems and Nuclear Science and Technology and was allowed to develop as a centre for research as well as teaching. In 1953, the college was granted its "Royal" title and became the Royal Military College of Science ('RMCS').
In 1984 Cranfield University became the main academic provider of the college. A contract entered into in November 2005 extended the Cranfield relationship to 2028. In 2004 the Royal Military College of Science amalgamated with the Defence Leadership Centre to create the Defence College of Management and Technology ('DCMT'). Then in 2009 DCMT itself became part of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, and was therefore renamed the Defence Academy - College of Management and Technology (DA-CMT).
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