Diverse range of student research on show at Food and Business Mini-Conference

A diverse range of student research has been the focus of the second annual Mini-Conference of Undergraduate Research in Business and Food at Harper Adams University.

The conference draws final year students from across the University’s Food and Business degree undergraduate courses to talk about their Honours Research Projects – with both in-person and poster presentations throughout the day.

Prizes are also given for the best oral and poster presentations at the conference, with a panel of judges drawn from Food and Business lecturers choosing two winners, and the attending students also voting on their favourite oral and poster presentation.

The winners received their prizes from Elizabeth Creak Chair in Agri-Tech Economic Modelling, Professor Karl Behrendt, and Head of the Food Land and Agribusiness Management Department Rebecca Payne, at a ceremony at the end of the conference.

The judges’ choice for Best oral presentation was BSc (Hons) Food and Consumer studies student Stephanie Nyambe, who was looking into the production of a reduced meat sausage suitable for lower income Zambian citizens, and for Best poster presentation was  BSc (Hons) Business Management with Marketing student Hanna Burgoyne – whose presentation was An investigation into the pandemic and post pandemic changes to consumer behaviour in the country clothing sector.

Winner of the Student award for best oral presentation was BSc (Hons) Food Quality and Retail Management student, Bella Li, who examined the impact of the use of reusable coffee cups on consumer behaviour at Harper Adams.

Finally, the Student award for best poster presentation was BSc (Hons) Food Techology with Nutrition student Sarah Reid, whose poster focused on An investigation into the use of grass as an alternative protein source for human consumption.

The conference was organised by Senior Lecturer in Economics, Dr Hairong Mu. She said: “I am thrilled to host the undergraduate research conference for the second year and showcase the incredible work of our talented students.

“This event not only highlights the innovative research happening on our campus, but also provides platform for our students to share their discoveries and engage in meaningful discussions with their peers and academic members of staff.

“We hope that this conference will inspire more students to pursue research and scholarly pursuits and contribute to the overall academic excellence of our institution.”

Come down to the RFA for the second mini-conference of Undergraduate Research in Business and Food to hear from a range of Harper students about their HRP projects. pic.twitter.com/qh8I1I3hh1

— Harper Adams University (@HarperAdamsUni) February 21, 2023

And Rebecca added: “It is a great honour and privilege to witness the development of our students’ ideas as they talk about their progress on the projects that were highlighted in today’s Undergraduate Research Conference in Business and Food. 

“This event signals the capstone project of their undergraduate studies here at Harper Adams University.  The posters and presentations that were the focus of the conference were both broad in their scope and thoughtful in their content. 

“I am reassured that the next generation of Food and Business students leaving our university have the bests interest of our population and our planet at the core of their ideas. 

“Their influence upon issues ranging from food waste, imported versus local sustainable food supply, reduced meat sausage products suitable for low income African families, through to the role of education in the adoption of precision technologies for our sector talks a great deal about how impactful our students will be once they finish theirs studies.

“The sustainability agenda is safe in their hands.”