In-person Scholarship Presentation sees £500,000 awarded to students

Posted 13 May 2022

An in-person ceremony has celebrated the return of the Harper Adams Scholarship Presentation to campus – with £500,000 awarded to students at the event.

This year’s ceremony – organised by The Harper Adams University Development Trust - was the first in-person event since February 2020.  It offered scholarship sponsors and Harper Adams students, staff, and trustees the chance to mark their achievements after another extraordinary year – and to network face-to-face.

A variety of support is offered through the scholarships awarded at each year’s event – including funding which could help with university fees or final year research, for students who want to take part in conferences, and more – and paid work placements with accompanying scholarships, which are often cited by their recipients as helping them secure vital industry experience. 

Head of Development Doris Taylor said: “It is wonderful to be able to say that the university’s Development Trust has awarded 164 scholarships this year, totalling £500,000 and supporting 141 individual students.  

“Every year, these scholarships offer our students not just financial support, but also opportunity – and it is great to see after each event how these awards help to shape their recipient’s future.

“The links which are marked at these events between students and sponsors regularly strengthen further – with students securing roles at their sponsoring companies after graduation. I’d like to thank all of our sponsors for their support – which is very much appreciated by our students.”

As well as the provision of scholarships of individual students across the University’s portfolio of specialist courses, work carried out by the Harper Adams University Development Trust also links companies, alumni and motivated benefactors with the mission of Harper Adams University in other ways.

This includes philanthropic investment in infrastructure and buildings – such as the facilities opened last year in the new Veterinary Education Centre. 

Professor Ken Sloan, Harper Adams University Vice-Chancellor, added: “We know what a challenging year this has been both for students and for many of our industrial partners. To see the strength of support at this year’s event is a testament to the work of our Development Trust staff, of Clive Gurney as Chairman and his fellow Development Trust trustees, and of Catherine Baxter, University Secretary and Secretary to the Development Trust.

“Whether it is through scholarships, placements, jobs upon graduation, or events like this we know that our current students will continue developing those bonds and building upon our top-ranking reputation among employers.

“I would like to congratulate Doris and her team for an excellent event, which is testament to the warm relationships we hold with industry, our supporting charitable trusts and individual sponsors.

“Whatever the nature of the sponsorship, it really does make a difference and every sponsor deserves our thanks and recognition.” 

Scholarships announced at the event this year included high-value placement and funding opportunities – such as the Rabobank Scholarship, the highest value undergraduate scholarship currently offered by Harper Adams and the CLAAS Scholarship, which went this year to Molly Robinson.

As this year’s CLAAS Scholar, BEng (Hons) Agricultural Engineering student Molly will receive £3,000 towards her education costs each academic year, an initial three months placement with a CLAAS UK owned dealership, and a year-long paid placement at the CLAAS headquarters in Germany.

A series of new scholarships have also been awarded this year: 

• The Bayer MSc Scholarship
• The Hubbard Breeders Scholarship
• The British Society of Plant Pathology 40^th Anniversary Scholarship
• The James Dale & Co. Scholarship
• The Evolution Farming Scholarship
• The David James Scholarship
• The Müller UK & Ireland Final Year Scholarship
• The John Oldacre MSc Scholarship match funded by the legacy of Alumnus John Wright
• The Galebreaker Pig Industry Scholarship
• The FA Gill Limited Pig Industry Scholarship
• The Morrisons Pig Industry Scholarship
• The Royal Entomological Society MSc Scholarship.

The full Harper Adams Scholarship Presentation programme can be seen here.