Tuesday, 14 February 2012 11:36

Scientist wins LIC study grant

Written by 

One of New Zealand's budding scientists will travel abroad later this year to complete his PhD, after winning the 2012 Doctoral Studentship Award from LIC.

Chad Harland, a former Taradale High student, holds a Master of Science from Canterbury University and is currently an information analyst in the farmer coop's Research & Development Group.

Harland, 28, will now choose a university to attend from August and commence his PhD in the area of genomics or bioinformatics, funded by LIC.

As part of the scholarship, a full time science position will also be made available at LIC when Chad returns to New Zealand.

Without the scholarship, Harland's plans to undertake his PhD were on-hold.

"The scholarship is great, and my PhD wouldn't have been as soon without LIC's support.

"It covers the costs of doing the PhD but also offers a relevant job once you finish it. This is a massive advantage because a PhD isn't much use if you can't get a job that allows you to make use of the skills you developed."

Harland says it's great to be able to use his knowledge and skills to help benefit and impact on the dairy industry with LIC.

"You have room to innovate and develop your career in areas that are of interest to you, and it's a company that's going places and having a real measurable impact."

General manager of Research and Development, Dr Richard Spelman says LIC has a reputation for attracting some of the best scientific minds in the world, and its scholarship programmes ensure this will continue.

"The programmes support our next generation of scientists, allowing them to complete a higher degree of study with funding, mentoring and job opportunities upon completion."

Since starting in 2002, LIC's Patrick Shannon Scholarship and Doctoral Studentship programmes have provided students with funding, support and mentoring from the leaders in the field, to assist them to complete a higher level of study.

The unique programmes encourage those studying genetics, mathematics, statistics, machine learning and/or bioinformatics to complete the study they may otherwise not be able to do, with support from LIC and possibility of employment in their research team.

More like this

LIC ready for challenges ahead

Herd improvement company LIC says it's well-positioned for the challenges ahead and remains focused on its core purpose - delivering value for farmer shareholders.

Breeding heat-tolerant cows for Africa

LIC is embarking on a ground-breaking project aimed at breeding heat tolerant and disease resistant dairy cows for Sub-Saharan Africa, in collaboration with the global leader in precision breeding, Acceligen, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Subsidies and free trade deals

OPINION: In March this year, Defra (the UK Government Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) published the national statistics for farm business income. The figures indicate that most farms make more money from support mechanisms and ‘diversification out of agriculture’ than they do from food production.

Featured

Massey Research Field Day attracts huge interest

More than 200 people turned out on Thursday, November 21 to see what progress has been made on one of NZ's biggest and most comprehensive agriculture research programmes on regenerative agriculture.

Expo set to wow again

Stellar speakers, top-notch trade sites, innovation, technology and connections are all on offer at the 2025 East Coast Farming Expo being once again hosted in Wairoa in February.

A year of global challenges

As a guest of the Italian Trade Association, Rural News Group Machinery Editor Mark Daniel took the opportunity to make an early November dash to Bologna to the 46th EIMA exhibition.

Boost for hort exports

The horticulture sector is a big winner from recent free trade deals sealed with the Gulf states, says Associate Agriculture Minister Nicola Grigg.

National

OSPRI's costly software upgrade

Animal disease management agency OSPRI has announced sweeping governance changes as it seeks to recover from the expensive failure of…

Machinery & Products

BA Pumps expand

Cambridge based BA Pumps & Sprayers, specialists in New Zealand-made spraying equipment, has acquired Tokoroa Engineering’s product range, including the…

Entries open for innovation award

Fieldays and its renowned Innovation Awards are celebrating their 57th year, marking a longstanding tradition in the agricultural calendar, with…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Chinese strategy

OPINION: Fonterra may have sold its dairy farms in China but the appetite for collaboration with the country remains strong.

Not fair

OPINION: The Listener's latest piece on winter grazing among Southland dairy farmers leaves much to be desired.

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter