Campus gearing up for biggest ever open day!

Posted 24 June 2015

Harper Adams University is gearing up for its biggest open day yet – with many visitors keen to learn about new courses being offered from 2016 onwards. 

A record number of potential students have signed up for the open day on July 5. With many bringing friends and family members, staff and student ambassadors are preparing to welcome more than 1,500 people between 9.30am and 4pm. 

As soon as the open day comes to a close at 4pm, 200-plus 16 and 17 year-olds will commence a residential taster course, The Harper Adams Experience

They will be among the first future students to sample activities based on a series of new honours degree courses set to start in autumn 2016; Geography, Automotive Engineering (Off-Highway), Mechanical Engineering, and a suite of new food courses: Food and Public Health Nutrition, Food Business Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Food Production and Marketing, Food Sustainability and Management, Food Technology and Product Development, and Food Technology with Nutrition.

Professor Ralph Early, head of the food science department, said: “Despite common misconceptions, food science and technology is not about cooking and catering. Right across the UK’s food supply industry, there is a shortage of suitably qualified and experienced graduates with a technical understanding of food. 'At Harper Adams, our food courses aim at developing multi-skilled graduates with the abilities to move ahead with the industry in a range of exciting and rewarding careers.”

Leading the Geography degree will be Associate Head of the Crop and Environment Sciences Department, Simon Irvin. He said: “Our geography courses will appeal to students who wish to undertake a course with a mix of academic and practical skills, in key areas such as climate change, pollution, sustainable development, water management, food security and sustainable environmental management. Here in Shropshire, there is a wealth of natural resources ideal both for studies and leisure time activities.”

Greg Rowsell, Programme Manager, added: “Our new Mechanical Engineering courses are focused on producing high-calibre engineering graduates who are experienced in the application of core mechanical engineering theory and practice to successfully deliver solutions to industry problems. In addition to the principles of machine design, students will learn advanced simulation techniques, mechatronics and control, alongside project management and problem solving skills. 

“The Automotive Engineering (Off-Highway) courses will have a mechanical engineering core with a specialism in the design and development of off highway vehicles. They will cover everything from the principles of suspension design, vehicle mobility and properties of off highway terrains, to the electronic control of vehicles and ride and handling optimisation.”

To learn more about the new courses, plus degrees in agriculture, business management and marketing, land and estate management, countryside and environment, animal studies, veterinary nursing and veterinary physiotherapy, sign up for the open day on July 5 online at Harper.ac.uk/openday

Potential students aged 16 and 17 can also register for The Harper Adams Experience (HAE). Participants will spend two days and one night on the university campus, experiencing student life. They will sample life in halls of residence, campus dining, lectures, practical lessons, and a night in the student bar with a Wild West theme. Book online at Harper.ac.uk/experience

At both the open day and HAE, visitors can chat informally with teaching, student finance, accommodation, student support and other staff, as well as student ambassadors, to find out everything they need to know about studying at Harper Adams University.

Teams from the university are also on tour throughout the UK and Ireland this summer - click here for a list of events Harper Adams is exhibiting at.