Harper Life Magazine 2020

—Harper Life Nov 2020 14 YOURNEWS Khaldoun Ali MSc Entomology 2015 – 2016 Frances Cooper REALM 2006 – 2010 David Pearce 1958 Emma Abbott BSc (Hons) Countryside & Environmental Management 2011 – 2015 John Tsikata Dip Poultry 1998 Jeff White I joined the University of Saskatchewan as a doctoral student after I finished my MSc at Harper Adams University with a high Distinction. Throughout my PhD work, I have been engaged in research projects attempting to elucidating the mechanisms of weed seed predation in agro-ecosystems. In fact, this is a novel avenue of biocontrol research covering fundamental aspects of plant-insect ecology. The depth and novelty of this research endeavour placed me among the few researchers in the world who are studying the ecological mechanism of plant-insect interactions at deep and detailed levels. More importantly, the quality of the work I was able to produce, in addition to some major breakthroughs I was able to make, brought me nine substantial awards so far. I also received honours, fellowships, and professional memberships from numerous institutions across the globe. I am now writing up my thesis, and will be taking up a post-doctoral fellowship position here in Canada after I graduate. After that, I would like to seek a professorship, and establish an academic career path that contributes more to biology in general and to insect-plant ecology in particular. I graduated from Harper Adams (REALM) back in 2010 and have recently written a piece for an Australian blog on my take of farming in Central Australia and how I think the knowledge I gained from my degree can be applied in Central Australian beef farming as well as in the UK. I’m not sure if it is of interest to you but I thought it may be nice for you to see what a member of Harper Adams alumni is up to now and that everything learnt at Harper can be transferred anywhere in the world. I retired 20 years ago and now my only connection with the poultry industry is two Warren hens in our back garden, busy laying two eggs most days. My third great grandchild arrived this morning. I still have many happy memories of two years at Harper and the NIPH, and the friendships built up in that time (1958 – 1960). Since graduating from Harper, I started my career at Severn Trent as a ranger at Carsington Water. In late 2015, I moved roles within the business to become an Agricultural Advisor, assisting farmers and land owners to make farm infrastructure and land management improvements to improve the water quality of their catchment area. In 2017, I applied for the role of Agricultural TeamManager at Severn Trent and now manage the team of Agricultural Advisors. The team cover 44 priority catchment areas across the Severn Trent region, working with thousands of farmers through our catchment management programme including the Severn Trent Environmental Protection Scheme (STEPS) and the Farm to Tap scheme which focuses on working with farmers to help mitigate the impact from pesticides and other run off from agricultural land on water quality. Since graduating from Harper, I have returned a couple of times to complete professional qualifications and training, most recently I completed the BASIS Soil and Water course which was very interesting. It was great to see a few familiar faces walking around and how the campus has developed. Worked in the Poultry industry for five years. In 1993 life changes has taken me into a Nursing Career. Now a Senior Nurse in the Prison Service with accolade of leadership awards for my skills. Married with six children. Like to share this life experience because my time in Harper has not been in vain. It has given me good grounding, shaped up my life and taught me how successful one can be if you take your career seriously. Met good friends on my course and still kept in touch with them, Harper Adams will ever remain one of my alumni. After Harper I eventually ended up in the military with an – unverified record – as being the oldest Officer Cadet to go through Sandhurst! I still have the scars to prove it! www.harper-adams.ac.uk