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    Harper Adams collects Queen's Anniversary Prize

    Posted 23 February 2006

    Her Majesty The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh presenting the award to Professor Wynne Jones, Principal at Harper Adams University College and Izzy Warren-Smith, Director of WiRE

    HARPER Adams University College has picked up a national prize for helping women to set up successful rural businesses.

    The Shropshire-based university college has been awarded The Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education.
    The award recognises Harper Adams’ significant contribution to the Women in Rural Enterprise (WiRE) programme in developing and supporting women-owned rural businesses.
    The award was presented by The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh at an honours ceremony at Buckingham Palace today (Thursday 16).
    Commenting on the award, Director of WiRE, Izzy Warren-Smith, said: “I am extremely pleased that the work of the WiRE team, its members and the University College has been recognised in this way.
    “WiRE could not exist without the support of its member businesses and business partners and we are sure that they too will welcome this success.” 
    The WiRE programme has had an enormous impact on the development of small businesses in the rural economy. It was founded in the mid 1990s as a result of research undertaken by Harper Adams University College.
    It has since grown into a national business club with membership stretching across the country and has regional offices in Yorkshire and the East Midlands. International links with China, South Africa, Eastern Europe and Scandinavia have also been pursued.
    The WiRE programme has worked closely with HSBC Bank, Business in the Community, Country Living Magazine, the Countryside Agency and most of the Regional Development Agencies across England in the delivery of its work.
    As a model of specialist small business support, backed by research, WiRE has featured in the Government strategy on women’s entrepreneurship and in other studies of methods to support enterprise in rural communities.
    Principal of Harper Adams, Professor Wynne Jones, added: “The award is a further recognition of the significant role that the university college plays as a centre of excellence within the higher education system, and is the culmination of an extremely successful year for Harper Adams.
    “The WiRE team has worked very hard to support this important part of the rural economy and the WiRE programme has proved how successful universities and colleges can be in working with the business sector. We are delighted, and greatly honoured, to have been given this award.”
    The Prize, which is awarded every two years to around twenty prizewinners on each occasion, includes a Prize Medal, the Prize Certificate signed by The Queen and the right to use the Prizes’ logo for a period of four years.
    It recognises outstanding achievements by UK universities and colleges that are of a world class level in an existing area of activity. All entries are subject to a rigorous assessment process by independent lay assessors and by the Trust, its committees and officers. 
    Comments may also be sought from departments of state, funding bodies and professional societies. The Prizes are unique in that they form part of the national honours system.

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