Vice Chancellor demonstrates impact of Catalyst Fund on academic profile

In a new blog for the Higher Education Funding Council for England, Vice Chancellor Dr David Llewellyn, profiles two examples of how the Catalyst Fund has helped secure significant changes to Harper Adams University’s academic profile.

The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) Catalyst Fund commits up to £30 million in annual funding, with an aim to drive innovation and enhance excellence and efficiency in the HE sector.

Dr David Llewellyn, Vice Chancellor said: “The HEFCE Catalyst Fund has provided Harper Adams University with ability to make the most of strategic opportunity, quickly and efficiently.”

One example he used was Dairy Crest’s production plant and product development team relocating to Harper Adams University, which demonstrated how vital the Catalysty Fund had been in creating new industry partnerships. The Dairy Crest Innovation Centre has provided many opportunities for students including; a placement year, graduate employment, research initiatives as well as industry knowledge exchange.

Dr Llywellen said: “We needed to show that we had the site and services infrastructure to deliver the project successfully, so we asked the Catalyst Fund to provide a grant of £150,000 to help bring this about. While the grant was relatively small, the HEFCE backing was an important element in securing the relocation of the Dairy Crest research team to the university."

The second example was how the HEFCE Catalyst Fund allowed Harper Adams University to provide a base for the National Centre for Precision Farming.

He  said: “We launched the National Centre for Precision Farming in 2012 and, later that year, we made a £1.46 million bid to HEFCE to create a base for the Centre and related teaching and research.”

“Our UK agricultural and engineering students benefitted from the new facilities and exposure to cutting-edge research.”

Read full blog here: http://blog.hefce.ac.uk/2017/10/16/changing-direction-at-harper-adams/