New pest management scholarships

Posted 4 March 2013

Harper Adams University is offering three new crop science scholarships thanks to funding from the Horticultural Development Company (HDC).

Students studying postgraduate Integrated Pest Management at the university in Shropshire are eligible to apply for the bursaries, which are worth £5,000 each.  HDC will provide funding to support the scholarships for the next three years.

They are aimed at those with a specific promise and enthusiasm for the horticultural sector. Those that receive scholarships also need to engage with a project that is of significance to the industry.

Professor Simon Leather, Professor of Entomology and MSc Integrated Pest Management Course Leader, said: “This is a fantastic boost for the course, which is unique in the UK.  

“We are extremely grateful to HDC for their support and the opportunities it will give students to gain expertise in an area that desperately needs new well qualified graduates.”

The Integrated Pest Management course offers students training in techniques to facilitate crop food production. It covers a broad range of topics in applied entomology, plant pathology and nematology.

All students receive training in fundamental skills which will enable them to enter either a pest/disease management work environment or a research career in applied entomology, plant pathology or pest management.

Dr Jon Knight, HDC Head of Research and Development, said: “The HDC is acutely aware that without investment in people with the necessary skills relevant to horticulture, the future of industry will be much more uncertain. 

“Almost without exception HDC levy payers are extremely keen to secure a supply of well-educated and talented people to grow the industry into the future.”

For more information about the course, see http://www.harper-adams.ac.uk/postgraduate/201005/integrated-pest-management