Carter Jonas' Rural Division has teamed up with Harper Adams University College to support future rural surveyors.

Carter Jonas has established a sponsored award for second year students on the Rural Enterprise & Land Management (REALM) honours degree course at Harper Adams University College, near Newport in Shropshire.

The awards scheme provides students with a real life case study location and generous cash prizes for the three who produce the best work as a result.

Andrew Black, an Associate in Carter Jonas' Shrewsbury office and a graduate of Harper Adams, established the sponsorship scheme.

He said: “This really is an exciting project and will help to forge very strong links between Harper Adams and Carter Jonas. The students studying on the REALM course are the lifeblood of the surveying industry, and we are delighted to be able to assist in their education to help them achieve their intended goals of becoming chartered surveyors.”

Andrew recently visited the Edgmond campus to give the students feedback on their work and present prizes to the first round of winners.

Christopher Edmunds, 20, from Cockermouth, Cumbria, produced the best report (pictured accepting his prize). The first runner-up was Lucy Roberts, 19, from South Crosland, West Yorkshire, who had completed work experience in the Huddersfield office of Carter Jonas before commencing her studies at Harper Adams. And the second runner-up was 19-year-old Thomas Bright from Clun, Shropshire.

The assignment required students to prepare a professional report and particulars as if they were assistant surveyors working for Carter Jonas’ Shrewsbury office. 

Simon Keeble, REALM courses manager, said: “This really is a very practical and important prize, tailored directly to assist the students in preparation for their sandwich year, which is a compulsory part of all Harper Adams degrees.

“It takes the students away from traditional academic studies, and puts them into a real-world setting, which can only be a good thing. It enables the students to form strong links with big firms such as Carter Jonas and it is further enhanced because Andrew is a Harper graduate.”

The annual award at Harper Adams has the full support of the Carter Jonas Management Board, and the firm would like to roll it out to other institutions in due course.  Anyone interested in being part of this most exciting approach to university sponsorship should contact Andrew Black.

Harper Adams University College’s close links with industry play a key role in its status as the UK’s Best University College, as judged by The Sunday Times University Guide in 2007 and 2008. In 2008 Harper was named Top for Teaching, with 100 per cent excellence, and Top for Jobs, based on Higher Education statistics which showed that fewer than one per cent of full-time first-degree graduates were remained unemployed six months after completing their studies.

For more information visit the Harper Adams University College website.