Forest Research Institute, Dehradun

The Forest Research Institute (FRI) is a Natural Resource Service training institute under the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. It trains officers of the Indian Forest Service and State Forest Service cadres and is among the oldest forestry institutions in India. Founded in 1878 as the 'Forest School of Dehradun' by Dietrich Brandis, it was renamed the 'Imperial Forest School' in 1884 and reestablished as the Imperial Forest Research Institute in 1906 under the British Imperial Forestry Service. In 1991, it was declared a deemed university by the University Grants Commission. The institute's main building, constructed at its present site from around 1923 and inaugurated in 1929, is styled in Greco-Roman and Colonial architecture and was once listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest purely brick structure in the world. The campus, spanning 450 hectares, hosts the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy, the Central Academy for State Forest Services, and previously the Wildlife Institute of India. FRI offers MSc and PG Diploma courses and enrolls PhD scholars. It also houses a museum with six sections and has been featured in numerous films and TV shows.