New courses to be announced at BBC Good Food Show

Posted 13 November 2014

Harper Adams University continues to show a dedication to the future of the food industry, by announcing a suite of new courses at the BBC Good Food Show later this month.

It will be the first time that the university in Shropshire has exhibited at the event, which is taking place at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham on November 27-30.

Manning the stand will be staff and students from the university’s Food Science and Agri-Food Supply Chain Management department, who will be encouraging visitors to take part in activities such as insect taste testing and evaluation.

The show also marks the announcement of three new BSc (Hons) degree courses at Harper Adams – food business innovation and entrepreneurship, food technology and product development, and food and public health nutrition. The team will also be launching a new masters course in food sustainability and management.

Head of the department, Professor Ralph Early, said: “We are excited by the prospect of being at the BBC Good Food Show as this will be a first for the university. 

“We attend national careers fairs, and regional and county food and agriculture shows, but the BBC Good Food Show will be different.

“Being at this event will place us alongside many of the food businesses that employ our graduates, and it will allow us to discuss the latest developments to our course provision with the general public.”

Subject to validation, the new courses will be available for application from September 2015 and join the two existing food degree courses which are being re-launched as food production and marketing, and food technology with nutrition for the next academic year.

Harper Adams boasts an impressive track record of preparing graduates for successful careers within the food industry. The university was ranked 4th in the recent YouthSight survey, which recognises the most welcoming universities in the UK based on student dropout rates. The university has also maintained a six-year average graduate employment rate of 96.1%.

Professor Early, who cites his interests as including the long-term sustainability of the British food industry, added: “We work very closely with our country’s food industry and are always being told by food business leaders that they cannot obtain all of the graduates they need. 

“When asked why this is, we suggest that part of the problem could be that the food industry is off the radar of many schools as a source of interesting and rewarding careers. 

“Also, people may have a limited awareness of what it means to be a food industry professional, for example, designing and developing the products we see in supermarkets or travelling the world buying food products and ingredients. 

“The food industry offers many very exciting career choices and this is something that we hope to communicate to visitors at the show.”