Harper Adams University Celebrates Student Achievements at Worshipful Company of Butchers’ Lunch

Liveryman Professor Bob Bansback, Professor Ken Sloan, Liveryman Martin Anderson, Gwen Williams, Tori Oxtoby, Dr Lynn McIntyre, Tom Nash and Liveryman Professor Jude Capper at the lunch.

Harper Adams students’ achievements have been celebrated at a Worshipful Company of Butchers’ lunch – which was also addressed by the University’s most recent Honorary degree recipients.

The charity’s guests at the lunch were Sir Michael and Clare, Lady Morpurgo, who received Honorary Degrees from Harper Adams at a ceremony in November. The Worshipful Company’s Past Master, Margaret Boanas, who received her Honorary Doctorate in September, was also among attendees at the lunch – which marks the Livery company’s commitment to both charity and education.

Harper Adams Vice-Chancellor Professor Ken Sloan, Liveryman Professor Jude Capper, Liveryman Professor Bob Bansback, Liveryman Martin Anderson and Dr Lynn McIntyre were among the University staff who attended.

Martin, who is also a Senior Lecturer in Food at Harper Adams, said: “This is always an amazing event to celebrate education, scholarships, and charity within the company.

“The relationship between the company and Harper Adams University seems to grow ever stronger, it was made all the more special this year to have all of our recent Honorary Degree awardees present, with the University Vice-Chancellor and current students engaged with scholarship activity supported by the Company.”

Chris Wood, Master of the Worshipful Company of Butchers, said: “This was a truly memorable occasion, not least because the WCB-sponsored Harper Adams students highlighted the value of their research work for the meat industry.

“We hope the whole experience will help them in their future careers.”

The students who presented at this year’s lunch were Tom Nash and Tori Oxtoby, whose MRes studies are being sponsored by the WCB, and Gwen Williams – who won the Gary Baker award.

This award is administered by the Worshipful Company of Butchers in conjunction with Harper Adams. It is made to a student at Harper who is carrying out an undergraduate degree, that has relevance to the meat and livestock industry, and has completed the third year – the compulsory industrial placement year – of their four-year degree course.

The student is required to demonstrate their intention of pursuing a career in the meat industry by submitting a report to show their understanding of the meat sector, the value of their placement year and their future career plans.

Gwen said: “Hearing that I had won the award was a very proud moment for me. It was an honour to be chosen for the award and will help significantly during my final year of university, especially with my honours research project that focuses on the future of the Red Meat industry.”

Meanwhile both Tori and Tom also spoke warmly of the value of the WCB’s support to their studies.

Tori said: “What an experience the day was. I have been fortunate enough to have my MRes sponsored by the WCB, and a condition of the sponsorship was presenting the work to the Court before the Master. The nerves, the excitement and the insight provided by the company made for an exceptional day and one I wouldn’t have been able to experience without the help of the University.”

And Tom added: “I presented an update on my master’s thesis which is called Optimisation of Net Zero strategies in the UK beef and sheep sectors.  I’m designing a model to compare different management practices that beef and sheep farmers can take to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions – and seeing how these affect biodiversity on the farm and the profitability of their businesses.

“The lunch was great. As students, we were mostly seated separately, which meant we were able to meet different people from the company.

“The food was great, the catering staff kept topping up our drinks – and the guest speaker, Michael Morpurgo, was on good form!”