Harper Adams University Vice-Chancellor Professor Ken Sloan has looked back on a momentous year – and forward to a historic one – in a wide-ranging BBC interview.
Professor Sloan spoke with BBC Radio Shropshire’s Paul Shuttleworth at the turn of the year.
The interview both celebrated some of the highlights of 2025 and gave listeners a flavour of what to expect in 2026 – as Harper Adams marks 125 years as a Shropshire institution.
New opportunities and advanced skills
Picking his highlights from the past year, Professor Sloan said: “We opened up our first new base in 120-odd years, and we had our first students going into Telford. They’re studying robotics, mechatronics, automation, data science – so really advanced technology and skills.
“I think a lot of people when they think about the base in Newport, they think about it as a very rural place – because it sits in and is surrounded by a farm, I think there are still some people in Shropshire and the wider West Midlands who think you have to be a farmer to go to Harper Adams.
“Actually, we’ve got a very diverse set of students, who come from a range of different backgrounds.”
Professor Sloan added that the new base – which is a collaboration between the University and a range of key partners including Telford & Wrekin Council - would also enable Harper Adams to help people in the region discover new opportunities.
He said: “What I was aware of - and I had these conversations with the council - is that there are high levels of potential within Telford which are not being realised through education – there are young people who are not fulfilling their potential, they are not going as far as they could.
“This gave us an opportunity to collaborate, not only with the council, but also with Telford College -and in one location, right next door to the railway station, if you were coming in as a new person at the age of 16, if you were someone at the age of 18, or all the way up to the age of 80, there were opportunities in that building for you.
“As well as having the college and us, you have also got European Innovation and a whole raft of new businesses which are being launched in that area – so it’s a really vibrant place.
“I wanted to make it easy for people to access higher education in Shropshire - and this way, you can get there on the bus, you can get there on the train, or you can walk in from town.”
Specialist success opens a historic year for Harper Adams
Looking forward to 2026, Professor Sloan added: “We go into the year from a position of strength, because one of the last things that happened at the end of last year was that we were named as the Times Higher Education Inaugural Specialist Institution of the year.
“That's what we carry into the next year - we've been recognised by our peers across the sector as being the number one specialist institution of the year, which is great.
“It's great for everyone who's associated with Harper Adams, but it's also a really strong base because next year, we'll start to celebrate our 125th birthday as an institution.”
As the University marks this milestone, Professor Sloan emphasised that people from across Shropshire will be welcomed to come and celebrate it at Harper Adams – sharing everything from the food produced on its Future Farm to the diversity of its grounds and wider estate.
He added “You've got this really positive environment, and we want young people, older people, families and others to be able to come onto campus and be able to come around and experience that - there'll be lots and lots of opportunities for that over the next 12 to 18 months.”
AI innovation draws on decades of knowledge
2026 will also see the University opening a new artificial intelligence unit in Telford, and Professor Sloan explained on how the University’s research in the area was already showing benefits for everything from crop health to animal welfare – as is set out in this BBC News online piece.
Reflecting on how such technology is becoming part and parcel of modern farming, yet drawing on decades of experience, he added: “It is not only the norm – it is the expectation.
“The thing we have got to always remember is that technology is developing knowledge from knowledge.
“One of the key things - the reason you connect the generations - is because ultimately, what you are wanting to do with the land, what you are wanting to do with your resources, what you are wanting to do to support your animals, is exactly what you would have done 100 years ago.
“It’s just how you do it is going to be different.”
Listen to the whole interview here from two hours 8 minutes in.
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