Thanks to Harper Adams, Rhys Leeper and five friends made it to and around the north coast of Scotland in a car he rebuilt himself.

The skills learned at Harper Adams can take you many places, as Rhys Leeper can attest to. After rebuilding a 1988 VW Golf in the evenings and weekends whilst at university, he and five friends travelled 1600 miles to and around Scotland’s northern coast, and made it back...just.

Now back in Shropshire completing his MEng in Automotive Engineering Rhys discusses what it’s been like getting stuck into Harper life.

“I think what I have enjoyed the most about my course at Harper Adams has definitely been learning new skills from industry experts who are passionate about their modules and doing so in small groups.

“The courses at Harper Adams are brilliant. The smaller class sizes mean that the lecturers are brilliant at providing support throughout the course, plus they consider you as colleagues and help you to achieve what you’re capable of.

The 23-year-old adds that: “There are several fantastic lecturers and resources at the university. Personally, I’ve enjoyed learning from David Clare, he brings many aspects of the course to life from his previous experience at Jaguar Land Rover.”

As for his personal course highlights, the avid traveller from Lincoln has two:

“The design challenge in second year, where every group had to demonstrate their product to the year group and lecturers. Some products were brilliant but lots of them broke, which was very entertaining.

“I also really enjoyed working on a group engineering project for a construction original equipment manufacturer. They challenged us to define the requirements for an electric powertrain.

“It really put us to the test, but they were impressed by what we delivered as a group. We also got a tour of their manufacturing facility and now have some really useful contacts.

 “I have also enjoyed the fact that Harper is a campus university in the countryside. It is quite close-knit and you get to know a lot of students from across all the courses,” says the final-year student.

“From my experience the best piece of advice I can give someone about Harper Adams is to get stuck in and make the most of the people and the facilities.”

Rhys will finish his studies this summer and is looking forward to operating plant machinery for the remainder of the year, before beginning an exciting career in the engineering sector.