Introduction
The School of Oriental Studies was established in 1916 to strengthen UK understanding of Asia. Its remit grew to cover Africa and it took its present title – the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) – in 1938. SOAS remains the only Higher Education institution in the UK specialising in the study and languages of Asia, Africa and the Near and Middle East. In the 1960s it expanded its activities into a range of social science disciplines, leading to its position today as a leading research institution in the area of international development. SOAS has an impressive reputation for teaching; it was ranked as the ninth best university nationwide in The Times Good University Guide 2008. SOAS comprises three faculties: Arts and Humanities, Languages and Cultures, and Law and Social Sciences. Departments and Centres are situated within these faculties and provide disciplinary expertise and regional focus.

Research
International development research at SOAS has two distinctive features, its reputation for the study of non-Western systems of thought and law, and the depth of its regional expertise on Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Much development research is concentrated in the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences. The work of the Department of Development Studies is centred around globalisation and neoliberalism, violence and conflict, migration and mobility, and agrarian change and labour markets. The Department of Economics specialises in the economics of growth and development. It has a particular orientation to Political Economy and heterodox approaches to Economics, as well as a focus on economic theory, econometrics and commodity and international financial economics in emerging and developing country contexts.

International development research is also undertaken in the School of Law and the Department of Politics and International Studies, with their special focus on legal and political systems in Asian, African and Middle Eastern countries, and research activities in human rights, security and transnational justice.

SOAS also operates a number of Centres which focus on international development issues. Among its geographically-focused Centres, the Centre for African Studies is the largest centre of expertise on Africa outside Africa. It was founded in 1965 and since 1991 the Centre has assumed formal responsibility for co-ordinating, stimulating and promoting interdisciplinary study, research and discussion on Africa within SOAS, and promoting a wider awareness of African issues. This Centre is also closely associated with the independent, Royal African Society, which is hosted by SOAS and based at LIDC. With a history of over 100 years and 1,000 current members, the RAS is Britain's prime Africa organisation, fostering a better understanding of Africa in the UK and throughout the world, disseminating knowledge and insight to make a positive difference to Africa's development, and celebrating the diversity and depth of African culture. RAS is particularly politically engaged through its role in the Africa All Party Parliamentary Group in the UK, and is closely associated with the academic community through its journal African Affairs and the Africa-Asia Centre.

Other SOAS centres concentrate on various subjects related to development policy and management. The Centre for Development Policy and Research coordinates innovative policy-oriented research across SOAS departments on issues including international political economy, economic policy alternatives, labour markets, governance and institutional change. The Centre for Development, Environment and Policy (CeDEP) has a 20-year history, beginning with the University of London’s Wye College, of research into sustainable development and the causes of poverty. Research projects focus on rural development, agricultural economics, food policy, supply chains, water resource economics, and environmental management. CeDEP also manages the journal Food Policy. The Food Studies Centre undertakes interdisciplinary approaches to the political, economic, and cultural dimensions of food, from production to exchange, and from preparation to consumption. The Centre has a number of projects directed at developing country food systems, as well as a large annual programme of academic events.

Teaching
SOAS offers a comprehensive portfolio of undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the social sciences, arts, humanities and languages for more than 4,600 students from 130 countries. Just over half of the students are studying for undergraduate degrees, and more than 25 per cent of the degree programmes offer the opportunity to spend a year studying overseas.

SOAS' particular strengths in international development training include its taught postgraduate degrees, for instance its very popular MA in Development Studies, and a range of distance learning Masters programmes. CeDEP has a strong reputation for research and innovation in the use of technology to support its distance learning programmes, which include new modules on Understanding Poverty and Climate Change and Development.

Highlighted initiative
One SOAS project of particular current interest during the economic downturn is Research on Commodities and Finance for Economic Development (ROCFED). The group comprises researchers from the Department of Economics and they concentrate on the disruptive effects of financial instability and crises on emerging markets and developing countries, and adopt new approaches to the study of commodities and finance for economic development.

Participation in LIDC
SOAS participates in the Agri-Health Working Group, and CeDEP and the Food Studies Centre will host activities of the new LIDC Agri-Health Initiative. CeDEP and the Water for Africa Research Project are also involved in cross-College work on water governance. CeDEP participates in the DL4D programme, and SOAS staff have taken part in a wide range of cross-College workshops.