Featured student of the month - William Copland

Posted 10 May 2011

A monthly special featuring a current student from Harper Adams.

19-year-old William Copland’s 4x4 repair business has gone from strength to strength since he started his course in off road vehicle design at Harper Adams in Shropshire.

The first year student enjoys the hands-on nature of his degree and has found that this, coupled with his experience of working on vehicles at home, has proved great foundations for his future in engineering.

William, from Hingham, Norwich, said: “I began learning from scratch, rebuilding my own cars when I was 15.

“At the time I was also interested in classical music but chose the engineering route for the better career prospects.

“Since coming to Harper, the best times have been in the workshop, furthering my skills in various areas and learning how to TIG weld. I’m also an ambassador and course representative and really enjoy showing off the facilities to future students and their parents at open days.”

Some of the engineering jobs that William has taken on include the complete rebuild of a Land Rover, engine rebuild and race preparation of an MG race car and most recently, work on a Volkswagen Phaeton.

He added: “I found academia at sixth form quite tough at times, but now I’m here at Harper Adams my advice would be to persevere and get a good base to build from at uni.

“These are the grades that help you to get a place, but, it is also very important to gain some practical experience in the area you hope to study. My work on the 4x4s has really helped me during my first year.”

Aside from the “vehicles and mud”, William is still looking to continue his love for classical music, playing the bassoon, piano, clarinet and alto saxophone in his spare time. He has travelled to Europe three times on orchestral tours.

Thinking about the future, William said: “A career with Land Rover currently appeals to me, anything in that field or similar, perhaps even working with military vehicles.”