CAFRE’s Loughry Campus hosted the annual event attended by Agriculture, Equine, Food and Horticulture students and industry partners.
Fintan McCann, head of Food Education, remarked: “Today we recognise the significant scale of financial support from our industry partners across our degree disciplines of Agriculture, Equine, Food and Horticulture with an impressive £106,000 being awarded.”
As part of CAFRE’s Industry Support Programme, Food students benefitted from £35,500 of awards. This was assigned to students undertaking BSc Honours and Foundation Degree programmes validated by Ulster University, at Loughry Campus, Cookstown.
Twelve companies presented bursary awards to students which included Avondale Foods, Bank of Ireland, Dale Farm, Danske Bank, Fane Valley, Henderson Group, Kerry (Omagh), Lakeland Dairies, Leprino Foods, Mackle Petfoods, Northern Ireland Food and Drink Association and Tyrone Farming Society. The first year Food degree students received a combined total of £18,000 in bursary awards.
Additionally, seven second-year Food degree students secured scholarship awards, with a combined value of £17,500. These were provided by Avondale Foods, Dunbia, Lakeland Dairies, Mackle Petfoods and Water Technology. The scholarship competition combines a financial payment of £2,500 with the opportunity to complete a paid work placement year within the business.
In his address, Paul McHenry, interim CAFRE director, commented: “The agri-food industry is a cornerstone of Northern Ireland’s economy. It contributes significantly to the region’s productivity with total sales exceeding £6 billion per year with a workforce of over 113,000 staff.
“With approximately 90% of its output destined for export markets, the Northern Ireland agri‑food sector is well positioned for continued growth and long‑term career opportunities. "
5. Awards Day
The Leprino bursary was presented by Conor O’Donovan to Alix Dalzell from Magheramason. Alix is a first year student on the Honours Degree in Sustainable Agri-Food Management at Loughry Campus. Photo: DAVID A SCOTT
6. Awards Day
Chloe Millar from Benburb and Mollie Cochrane from Craigavon were awarded with scholarships from Dunbia at the Industry Support event. Presenting the awards were Victor Hazelton and Katie Morton. Both Chloe and Mollie are in their second year of studies on the BSc (Hons) Degree in Food Innovation Management, and as part of their award will complete their third year placements with Dunbia. Photo: DAVID A SCOTT
7. Awards Day
Katie McCullagh from Lisburn is studying on the first year of the Food Innovation Management degree at Loughry Campus. Katie was presented with the Henderson Group bursary from Joanne McClelland. Photo: DAVID A SCOTT
8. Awards Day
Kathryn Montgomery from Drumahoe was presented with the Kerry Omagh bursary by Dr Gillian Stevenson. Kathryn is studying on the first year of the BSc (Hons) Degree in Sustainable Agri-Food Management at Loughry Campus. Photo: DAVID A SCOTT