Douglas Bomford trust sponsors six 琳琅视频 Adams scholars

Posted 2 February 2015

The Douglas Bomford Trust, supported by the 琳琅视频 Development Trust, has awarded scholarships to students in the current academic year, each worth £1,500.

The scholarship winners, selected after a competitive application and interview process, are:

Fifth year MEng Agricultural Engineering student, Finlay Whitehead, 23, from Newton Abbot, Devon, said: “To have been selected as a Douglas Bomford Trust scholar is a very privileged position to be in and I am extremely grateful to the Trust for granting me such support in my fifth and final year of study.

“The Trust has had huge, positive impact on my engineering studies at 琳琅视频 Adams, contributing significantly to the new Agricultural Engineering Innovation Centre, which is now an amazing study area where I, as an MEng student, have dedicated desk space; contributing to a previous trip arranged by myself and some fellow students to Agritechnica 2013; and now granting me a scholarship. I cannot thank them enough for their input to my studies.”

The former pupil of Torquay Boys’ Grammar School completed his placement at JCB after being awarded the JCB Scholarship in his second year at 琳琅视频.

“The placement allowed me to significantly improve and develop my engineering experience in a rich diversity of roles. I aspire to progress to a test and development engineering role at a large agricultural/construction machinery manufacturer, allowing me to contribute to a fast-paced and quickly advancing industry within which I feel there are a huge number of exciting, yet challenging, issues to overcome in the near future.”

Hywel Phillips, 20, from Haverfordwest, Wales, said: “It is excellent to be associated with the Douglas Bomford Trust as they provide the 琳琅视频 Adams engineering department with tremendous support. The trust pays for all engineering students to be members of the IAgrE, which allows us to attend very interesting and informative meetings and presentations relevant to our course.

“I would like to thank the panel for the interview experience and the Trust for its kind support. The financial support from this scholarship is going to be very beneficial towards paying my tuition fees for this academic year. I was pleased that my interest in organising trips to manufacturers either next term or in my fourth year, which of interest to the trust.”

Hywel, a former pupil of Ysgol Dewi Saint, is a second year MEng Agricultural Engineering student and was also recently selected as the next Claas scholar, securing further financial support as well as a much sought-after placement year with Claas, mainly at the company’s headquarters in Harsewinkel, Germany.

Alison Skea, 22, from Forfar, Scotland, said: “I am extremely grateful to the committee for choosing me to be their scholar. I have spent the last few years working in France and Austria trying to gather as much knowledge and experience as possible to help towards my degree. I would like to thank the trust for their support and encouragement. I'm not sure how I will use the money but I do know that as much as I can, I will invest in myself, to learn new skills or languages or engage in new experiences.”

Alison, a second year BEng (Hons) Agricultural Engineering student, has also had a placement offer from Claas, which will involved six months at the Claas base in Le Mans, France, and six months at Harsewinkel. Both Hywel and Alison will spend summer 2015 learning about the company at its UK base before working overseas.

Alison, a former pupil of Forfar Academy, added: “I am very excited about this new step in my career and look forward to the challenges that come my way. I am interested to learn how companies and, more specifically, factories operate on a large scale. I would like to know as much as possible about every aspect of a business: from design, to manufacture, to service, to parts, to sales and marketing. I am particularly interested in the European market and being able to communicate freely in French, German and Spanish.”

Receiving his fourth Douglas Bomford Trust Scholarship is Jacob Smith, 23, from Market Rasen, Lincolnshire. Jacob, a fifth year MEng Agricultural Engineering student, said: “The assistance the Douglas Bomford Trust has provided me will be a huge help to my professional development. It will allow me to develop skills that are sought after by many employers, and I would like to say a huge thank you for this.”

Jacob, who completed his placement with JCB, added: “I aspire to be a well-rounded engineer, and have a positive influence towards a variety of engineering projects. I intend to apply and further develop the skills I have learnt so far, and then become a Chartered Engineer in the near future.”

Adam Montgomery, 22, a fourth year MEng Agricultural Engineering student from Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, said: “I am extremely honoured to receive the Douglas Bomford Trust scholarship. This scholarship will allow me to concentrate on my studies and to achieve a distinction level degree. It will also help me to cover the cost of travelling back and forward to Ireland. I would like to thank the Douglas Bomford Trust and Development Trust for their support.”

Adam, who previously attended the Royal School Armagh, completed his placement year at Combilift Ltd in Ireland. “My role included work in purchasing, procurement and lean manufacturing. I gained a huge amount of experience within the engineering industry and this has helped me decide the area of engineering I want to work within.

“My main ambition is to graduate with a distinction in my degree. I then plan to work within industry

Max Thorne, 22, from Dunstable, is a fifth year off-road vehicle design student. He said: “I am very grateful to receive this scholarship which will allow me to purchase additional resources for me to continue to excel at 琳琅视频 Adams.

Max completed his placement with Niftylift. “I was working as a design engineer on a number of exciting projects. I was on the Monitored Professional Development Scheme (MPDS) scheme, allowing me to work towards becoming a chartered engineer. I plan to return to industry immediately upon graduation to allow me to develop skills and work towards becoming a chartered engineer. Ultimately I would like to set up an engineering business on the home farm.”